A Soldier's Fate
by AncientWriter
Summary: Serenity grew up on a farm with her family. As her father pushes her towards a marriage she does not desire, her origins begin to show. She is forced into a union with a man she cannot stand, a man who abandoned his life as a noble to become a soldier.
1. Endymion's Letter

Author's Note:  
  
I hope that someone out there likes this.*grins.*  
  
Disclaimer: I would just like everyone to know that I do NOT own Sailor Moon or any of the characters related to the series, so don't sue me! I don't have any money anyway, but you could always take my student loans *giggle.* Enjoy!! :P  
  
Just a note: please do not take my ideas without asking. The platform etc. belong to me.  
  
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Age was not an issue for those who desired a position in the front lines; so when Jedeite had first met Endymion eight years ago, the twelve- year-old did not shock the older man. It was common for the poorer families to sell their sons to the military and their daughters to the whore houses at that time. It was not even Endymion's innate skill for swordplay or ability to kill that disturbed the long-time general. Instead, it was the knowledge that Endymion had willingly sacrificed the life of a noble, and a loving family, to fight in the war. At twelve-years- old, the small boy had consciously decided to bind Fate to a leash and lead his own life, a decision which, eight years later, still seemed to be the correct one.  
  
Jedeite's lips curved upwards knowingly when Endymion waved over the nearest tavern maid to refill their jug of ale. His slight motion immediately attracted every wench in the tavern. His nearly dangerous good- looks could stop the heart of any woman--wench and noble alike. Endymion's interludes never lasted more than one evening, and even that was a rare occasion for one who was continuously offered irresistible pleasures. Jedeite felt as though Endymion only accepted the offers as to fend off his friends' jealous and consistent commentary. The general had never understood why Endymion's dark, ebony hair, cold blue eyes, and long, strong physique defeated his own short blond hair, gray-blue eyes, and stronger build. Yet it occurred regularly, without fail.  
  
Presently, a wench with blinding red hair and a generous hourglass figure slid into Endymion's lap with a new pitcher of ale and refilled their mugs. Endymion's hand slid around her rotund waist and pulled her deeper into his lap. The woman squirmed playfully, causing him to grunt in both pleasure and acute pain.  
  
"I can make you be doing more than that, lovey," the woman giggled, her hands suddenly running over his broad chest and through his loose, soft hair. "Much more. . . . Why don't we go to your room, lovey? I'll see to your needs."  
  
"Ha! She'll deal with your needs alright, milord! Just like she deals with every other man's!" a rowdy blonde called out across the crowded room. "I'll be a virgin for you, milord! Virgins have all the energy, you know!"  
  
"At every bloody tavern, Endymion," Jedeite chided. "You're a whore- magnet. We'll never be able to make a descent man out of you!"  
  
"Good! I have no wish to be a descent man, Jedeite. I gave that up long ago."  
  
"And rightfully so, lovey," the redhead cooed, pressing her ample chest close to Endymion. "But even the descent ones come to beg for my tricks."  
  
"Why don't you try some of these tricks on someone else while my friend and I finish our drinks? I will come to you should I find that need, though," Endymion reassured the wench, his words sounding sincere, but Jedeite knew he would not call on her. Endymion pressed a gold coin down the front of her low-cut blouse between the rough swell of her warm breasts and laughed as she squirmed from his grasp and moved onto another man.  
  
"That was a waste of a bloody gold coin. We don't have a lot of those to throw around, you know? Despite what the whores call you, you're not a bloody lord any more," Jedeite glared with disapproval; he had been eyeing the flirtatious woman all evening. "You're far too young to be engaging in these activities."  
  
Endymion pushed the ale away from himself and locked his cold eyes on Jedeite. "I'm not that young, Jedeite. I'm a bloody full-grown man now! I don't need you to baby-sit me!"  
  
"Well, somebody should! You bloody idiots are supposed to be on the towers!"  
  
"Calm down, Nephrite. Pull up a chair," Jedeite waved the heaving general towards an empty chair. "Have a drink with us."  
  
"I'll have none of that poison," Nephrite snapped before coming to hover over both men. Only Nephrite would have the gall to call insult on Jedeite. Endymion was a soldier, and the term 'bloody idiot' was well within the range of names one can call a man of lower ranks (especially when the one labeling the soldier a 'bloody idiot' is a general, himself). Jedeite, however, was one of the highest ranking generals in the army. Had Nephrite's own rank not been identical to the older general's, Jedeite's response to Nephrite's continuing tirade would not have been so friendly. "How long have you two been avoiding tower-watch?! You could be jeopardizing the entire town while you lunkheads are in here drinking! Drinking!"  
  
"Nephrite, there's no war, man! There is no action out there, and it's bloody cold!" Jedeite persisted before downing the remaining ale. "Besides, the whole town's in here anyway!"  
  
"You're both bloodied idiots," Nephrite snorted before sitting in the empty chair, tossing his long, wavy, red-brown hair away from his face. "If you want to finish your drink, Endymion, I suggest you follow Jedeite's example and down it. You got a letter today."  
  
"Woohoo! A bloody letter," Jedeite chortled. "Now your wenches write, do they?"  
  
"Apparently," Endymion smirked. "So, Nephrite, where's my letter?"  
  
"Well, the commander has it now, dimwit. He isn't pleased with it, either."  
  
"Hmm, maybe it was his wench. Eh, Endymion?"  
  
"Would you shut up? They're talking about kicking you out of the military, Endymion. This is serious. Seems that you got some inheritance that needs claiming."  
  
"Inheritance? That's ridiculous! I have no family, and aside from you two, I have no friends, either," he intoned.  
  
"Well, somebody sure considered you family. The letter referred to you as 'Lord Endymion Shields.' I never even knew your last name! Never mind any bloodied titles you somehow got!" Nephrite nearly shrieked, his dark, ruddy hair falling into his eyes. No one spoke.  
  
"I thought mail was private," Jedeite finally commented, breaking the angry silence.  
  
"Not when it comes all dolled-up like that letter. It's official business, then," the upset general responded with an air of importance.  
  
"They won't go kicking him out of the military, Nephrite. We always knew that Endymion was some lord's legitimate son. We knew what he was."  
  
"What was the inheritance?" Endymion asked mildly, his blue eyes suddenly possessing a commanding spirit.  
  
"My guess would be a lord's estate with all the trimmings," Nephrite snorted. "But you'll need to prove that you're not some savage to claim it. They don't want an unsettled lord."  
  
"Then I'm afraid they'll be out of luck," Endymion rose from his seat. "I think we're off duty now. If you two gentlemen will excuse me."  
  
"Gentlemen? Ha!" Jedeite laughed. "Maybe you're more of a lord than you'd like to think. But seriously, Endymion, you should take a look at the letter. You could use the money."  
  
"No money would be worth the dull life of a noble," the younger man replied smugly.  
  
Both Nephrite and Jedeite burst into loud chortles of laughter. "This from a man who complains of boredom here! And it's not a rare occurrence of complaint! This man complains of boredom throughout his every waking moment!"  
  
Endymion waved off their comments and sauntered into the warm summer's night air outside of the tavern. No one else seemed to be on the streets at the late hour, and Endymion found comfort in the solitude. He was seldom alone. . . there always was someone by his side. . .always someone to temporarily distract him from the hollow emptiness that clenched his chest in quiet moments such as these. A whore could dull his emotional senses and make him unable to possess any emotions. Even in the blissful moments of mind-numbing pleasure, Endymion distanced himself from the emotions he felt. Lately, the feeling of quiet suffering, of silent loss, had begun to speak-up. He craved the same distractions from emotion that he had once taken for granted. Endymion craved a release--an state of something close to amnesia--to touch him and hold him prisoner, to enslave him and make him care about life again. . .  
  
. . .but he had been desiring the release--the blessed torture of enslavement, of forgetting--for six years without avail. Ever since the war ended, and life had lost its purpose, he had been waiting for something- -a dream--to make him care again, to make him feel. . . . 


	2. Serenity's Confinement

Author's Note: Sadly, sadly, I still do NOT own Sailor Moon *sigh.* And chances are that that will not change in the future *laughs.* Oh well, I hope readers will enjoy it anyway!! I promise that things are about to get much better!  
  
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Mud clung to the hem of Serenity's bulky skirts as she tugged two strands of barbed-wire together with her gloved hand, attempting to repair the stiff, frozen fence. The wool mittens had already been snagged by the sharp, protruding spikes, and her frustration with the uncooperative structure was rapidly escalating. Brown fabric drooped over her fiery, blue eyes, and she angrily pushed the hood off of her head before continuing to work. In the north, even summer's breath held nothing but cold, harsh wind and ice-cold snow, and as it exhaled, biting drifts rushed down Serenity's neck and around her newly exposed ears. She briefly considered untying her tightly plaited silver-blonde hair to better cover her ears and neck, but a harsh gust of wind that would have blown away any such loose strands immediately changed her mind.  
  
Sinking to her knees in the shapeless brown dress, the woman yanked both ends of the severed wire towards each other. The ends finally touched, and Serenity's gloved fingers quickly wound the ends about one another to prevent them from parting again. Her skirts had absorbed much of the cold, liquefied snow, and she eagerly stood up, forgetting to fully remove her numb hands from the barbed-wire. Her left hand had escaped the teeth of the fence without incident; however, her right hand was not as fortunate.  
  
Serenity's mud-splashed braid fell over her shoulder as she fell back to her knees and removed the torn glove. An angry red gash split the center of her small, delicate hand. Wasting little time bemoaning her misfortune, she tore the glove until it was one long strip of fabric and stuffing. Placing the seemingly clean snow over her wound, she tied it around her bleeding palm.  
  
"Serenity!!. Serenity!!. Why haven't you finished your chores?!!" the angry voice of Lord Tsuniko of Avenroi called out over the snow-kissed landscape. "Serenity!!! The Lord Robinet will be here at any moment, and should there be the mere suggestion of uncleanness in this household, I will give you a lashing you will not soon forget!! Serenity!!!!"  
  
"I'm coming, father!" Serenity called out as meekly as she could, praying that her father found no offense in her tone. "I'm on my way!"  
  
The young woman collected her wet, bulky skirts and began to trudge through the thick drifts of snow leading to Avenroi manor. The manor was not far from where she had been working considering the size estate; however, it still took Serenity seventeen minutes to finally reach the entrance to the house. Lord Tsuniko was waiting for her with more impatience than she had witnessed in a long time.  
  
"Shingo needs to be fed," her father snapped angrily, dropping a tray of food into her arms before she could speak. The weight of it wore heavily on her new wound, but she did not speak a word of complaint.  
  
Shingo's room was on the second floor of the manor down a long, deserted hallway. His chamber had not always been so secluded; Serenity's room was once next to his. She remembered sneaking into his room when she was scared or lonely as a child. His brilliant smile and affectionate teasing always made her forget the brooding evils of the imagination that had initially drove her to her brother.  
  
She slipped inside of his bedroom door and briefly wondered if he wished that he had someone to chase away his fears now. "Shingo? I've brought you some food. How are you feeling today?"  
  
"Sere!" a cheerful, but weak, cry sounded from the far-reaches of the dark room. Even with the husky, baritone voice of manhood, Shingo sounded gleefully childlike. "Come to see your old brother, huh? 'Fraid I'm not much fun, kiddo. Mind you, I am quite peckish. Perhaps I could amuse you with my grotesque eating habits. How's our old man? He avoids me like the plague, that one."  
  
Serenity giggled as her older brother moved easily from one question to another. His rapid speech barely left her room to breathe between topics. "How have you been, Shingo?"  
  
"Well, to tell you the truth, I have see better days," he quickly caught her face falling into concern and winked at her. "Then again, Sere, I've seen worse. Has that old bugger downstairs been giving you lashings? You're dripping blood on my nice bedsheets."  
  
"Oh!" Serenity quickly settled the tray on the small table beside Shingo's bed and re-wrapped her palm. "No, father had nothing to do with this. I cut myself on the fence. I didn't have time to wrap it properly, that's all. I'm sorry about your bedsheets."  
  
"I was only joking, Sere. 'Bout time they washed them anyway," he mumbled between mouthfuls of bread. He noticed Serenity's crystalline eyes watching him carefully and sighed. "What's the matter, Sere?"  
  
Serenity cast her eyes away from his. "I'm worried about you, Shingo. Columbia and father keep saying that you won't live through this," she whispered as though speaking louder would make it true.  
  
"I'm doing the best I can to stay alive, Sere, but it doesn't look good for me," he tugged on Serenity's silver-blonde braid and coaxed her lips away from her teeth. He returned her smile before continuing. "I'm sure it'll all work out, Sere. If I do die, you and Columbia will figure out something. You'll get married, have kids, a good provider.it won't be bad."  
  
"For Columbia--"  
  
"Sere, that's not nice. I'm trying to help."  
  
"Exactly! So stay alive for me, Shingo," the young woman sighed. "Columbia drools over the mere thought of marriage. It would be a blissful dream for her if she could go off and forever be secure. I don't want that. I don't want to be a slave to some man and bear his children! The simple thought of it disgusts me! If you die, I won't be able to stay here and work. Not that working's great, but it's better than becoming a feeble slave! Father will not want to have us; we are a burden to his finances. The only reason we've been allowed to stay here is because you said that you'd play caretaker to us. He would have sold us off by now if you hadn't said that!"  
  
"You wouldn't have been 'sold,' Sere."  
  
"You know what I mean, Shingo," Serenity frowned.  
  
Shingo paused, considering her words, before she spoke again. "Columbia never liked the idea, did she?"  
  
"No.she never did," Serenity nodded, "but I do. You're protecting me."  
  
"You don't need me to protect you, Serenity," Shingo murmured. "You are stronger than I am. Stronger than most people. You just don't realize it yet, that's all. I think that you need someone to give you a gentle shove towards your strength. I know that it's there. I've known it ever since you got that mark on your forehead."  
  
"I'm not a witch! Please don't tell me that you think that I'm a witch, Shingo!" Serenity cried out in shock.  
  
"No, no," Shingo laughed softly. "I know that you're not a witch, Serenity. You're something greater; I know it. Besides, I don't think that a witch would have a crescent moon as a marking. It's not very intimidating, you know? It's just not witchy."  
  
"Maybe they'd have a bat, or a broom?" Serenity teased.  
  
Shingo shrugged and pulled the blankets closer to his chin. "I don't think a witch would bother with a mark, actually. I think that it's kind of pretty, you know? It seems to sparkle gold; it reflects light."  
  
"All the more reason for them to burn me at the stake," Serenity mumbled.  
  
Shingo simply smiled before passing out again. Serenity grabbed the book beside the untouched tray of food and took it to her brother's solid oak desk. Using the quill and inkpot, she quickly recorded Shingo's lapse into unconsciousness. Reviewing the past entries, Serenity discovered that hi s fainting episodes were becoming more frequent. She returned the book to the bedside table and gingerly tugged at the blankets so they would cover his shoulder.  
  
"Stay with us, Shingo. We need you." 


	3. North

Author's Note: I'm sure that this will leave everyone shocked *rolls eyes,* but I still don't own Sailor Moon (or anything of the like!) *smiles.* I hope that someone likes this.it'll get better. I promise.  
  
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"So you're leaving?"  
  
"They kicked me out! They actually kicked me out? And do you want to know why?" Endymion turned to face Jedeite. "They kicked me out because my father made some powerful friends that they don't want to deal with!"  
  
"Powerful friends?" Jedeite pressed.  
  
Endymion spun around and continued to pack his bag. "The letter was written by the queen! The bloody queen!"  
  
Jedeite scratched his head, ruffling his carefully styled blonde hair. "The queen, eh? You must be a powerful noble, Endymion."  
  
"I'm not a noble!"  
  
"Course not, milord," Jedeite teased. "You can be whatever you want to be. Makes no difference to a lowly sort such as myself."  
  
"Jedeite.," Endymion's voice held a tone of deep menace.  
  
The older man held up his hands in feigned surrender. "I'm only messing with you, Endymion. Where are you planning to go? I somehow doubt that you'll respond to the letter."  
  
"North."  
  
"North?" the general frowned. There was nothing in the north except for snow and cold; two of his least favorite things.  
  
"Yes, north. They always need soldiers up there. I won't be turned down, and that bloody queen won't be able to find me."  
  
"Sounds good to me," Jedeite replied before revealing the swelled saddlebags in his callused hands. "I'm all packed and ready to go."  
  
"You're not coming."  
  
"I think I am. You'll need someone to watch your cocky back. You might just get into trouble if I don't. Not everyone has figured out that you're not half as arrogant as you appear. I feel responsible for you," he shrugged off Endymion's glare. "I'm coming. I'll follow you if I have to. You're like my little brother."  
  
"You're not that much older than me, Jedeite," Endymion's eyes challenged the general.  
  
"I am old enough, Endymion, to know better than you."  
  
Endymion seemed satisfied by the comment, but Jedeite knew better. No matter how long he and Endymion remained friends, the younger man would not trust him. It was nothing against him, of course. Endymion just did not trust anyone. He refused to let anyone close.  
  
"You know," Endymion finally began, "I never knew my parents. It's kind of funny that people I never knew could destroy my life."  
  
Jedeite's face clouded in confusion. "I thought.you told me that they loved you," the general's voice was careful, gentle. "I thought that you just ran away to be a soldier. You.you did know them, Endymion."  
  
"No, that's just it. I lied to you, Jedeite. I didn't remember anything-- I still don't. There was no way that the military would take in some strange kid with amnesia.. You all presumed that I was the son of a lord because of my clothes.. When you kept asking me all of those questions.I had to tell you something, Jedeite. I wanted to belong somewhere. I was just a kid. I didn't know any better. I still didn't understand life," Endymion's shoulders sagged as though he had taken on the weight of the world. "I am sorry, Jedeite. I hope you can forgive me this."  
  
"Forgive you what, Endymion?" a sultry voice cooed from the doorway.  
  
Endymion cast Zoicite a vicious glare only to have the indomitable female shrug it off with a toss of her light red-brown hair. Jedeite tipped his head towards the female general and motioned towards Endymion. "He's just confessed to having amnesia when he first came to the military. He also confessed about lying regarding his past memories."  
  
"So?" Zoicite yawned offhandedly.  
  
"My thoughts exactly," Jedeite smirked. "Everything is ready, I take it?"  
  
"Mmm-hmm. Not like there was a lot to do. They'd be too scared to deny us our resignation."  
  
"Excuse me?" Endymion demanded as he slung his saddlebags over his back.  
  
"Did he say something about having a hearing problem as well, Jedeite? Or perhaps a lack of understanding regarding simple concepts?"  
  
"Zoicite.," Endymion growled. "You are not coming."  
  
"You're right. I'm not coming.alone," she leered playfully. "Nephrite and Kunzite are waiting with the horses."  
  
"No."  
  
"He's been struggling with this concept, Zoicite. Seems to think that he can handle himself out there."  
  
"I'm sure he can, but it would be at a great cost to our mental stability.I believe it's called 'sanity'.to have our dear Endymion run out on his own," Zoicite quipped. "Now come, my dear Endymion, we are leaving now."  
  
Endymion watched helplessly as Zoicite and Jedeite left the room. He could run now. He could go and leave them waiting by the horses, but he knew that he would not. Somewhere inside, Endymion knew that he needed them. Snatching his curved blade by the leather hilt as he walked out of the door, Endymion muttered his anger beneath his breath in an attempt to relive his frustration.  
  
"Taken to talking to yourself, eh Endymion? Or should I say 'Lord Endymion Shields?' That's quite the pretty name you got their, pretty boy. Gonna go live in your comfy-cozy castle now huh?"  
  
Endymion turned to find a group of low-class soldiers jeering at him with spite. His blue eyes rested on them for only a moment before he turned and left them without comment. They weren't worth his energy or time. If he stopped for every vindictive comment thrown at him, he would never leave the encampment; he would have never made it to the military for that matter.  
  
The four generals were waiting for him; they had already mounted their horses. Endymion worked quickly to attach the saddlebags and swung his leg over the saddle of his honey-golden quarterhorse. Kunzite offered him a small nod of acknowledgement.  
  
"I trust you know what you are doing, Endymion? I do not believe that a queen will be so easily thwarted by you."  
  
"I am not concerned with Queen Beryl, Kunzite. She is of little consequence to me. Nothing goes to the north. It is completely divided from the south."  
  
"And just how is it that you think a queen cannot send messengers to the north?" Zoicite intoned, mildly amused with Endymion's logic. "Those with power have the ability to do anything."  
  
except fly Endymion thought quickly. "I just have faith in the north's seclusion. I can hope, can't I?"  
  
"A soldier should not rely on 'hope,' Endymion. Hope is too much a fickle concept," Jedeite commented.  
  
"Fine, then call it 'faith.' Whatever it is that I have, I'm following it. Even if it is desperation. Now you can come and silence your pessimistic voices or stay and continue on tower-watch," Endymion heeled his horse into a rough lope and took off across the dirt road.  
  
The four generals sat on their horses and watched Endymion ride off.  
  
"He's still so angry," Nephrite sighed. "Much too headstrong."  
  
Zoicite snickered at his statement. "I think that we trained him rather well, don't you? At least he won't be hurt by anyone."  
  
"And is never opening yourself up to someone such a grand thing, Zoi?" Kunzite asked as he raised a single white eyebrow at his beloved. Zoicite blushed deeply, but disguised it in a glare.  
  
"For some it is better not to be hurt."  
  
Jedeite tightened his horse's reigns and prepared the creature to gallop. "I think that it would be a grand thing for him to open up--to anything! He could talk to a bloodied rock for all I care! He needs to get out his frustration and pain before it eats his soul. If he doesn't, I afraid that he'll really become as harsh and cold as everyone else perceives him."  
  
"Just give him time, Jedeite," Zoicite quipped before slamming her heels into her gray horse and giving it the reign it needed to gallop. Kunzite took after her without a word, leaving Nephrite and Jedeite standing alone. The two generals watched for awhile before following suit, their bay horses charging after the first three, disturbing the dust in their wake.  
  
And somewhere in a once-beautiful green and prosperous forest, an angry queen awoke from her sleep and summoned a messenger. 


	4. The Messenger

Author's Note: thanks to all of you who R&R'd. This chapter's a little dull, but necessary for advancements. Serenity and Endymion start to throw violent sparks at each other within the next two chapters. There'll be more soon!!!  
  
  
  
  
  
"I don't understand."  
  
The slighter man grimaced as Lord Tsuniko tried to hand him the letter. "Is the queen not self-explanatory? Do you insult her?"  
  
"Sir, I mean the queen no insult, still your tongue. I fail to understand, however, why any man of noble blood would pose as a soldier to find himself a bride. It makes no sense to me! I am a lord, and you do not see my putting up some childish charade to find a wife! This man is an affront to my intellect and understanding of the more refined blood!"  
  
"Perhaps you would understand better were I to explain Lord Shields' intentions," the messenger glared haughtily. "He has no wish for any woman to throw herself at his feet knowing that he is of noble blood. Lord Shields does not care for women of shallow heart. By posing as a soldier, Lord Shields is able to better judge their character. Or so he believes."  
  
"And Queen Beryl has taken time from her schedule to monitor a minor lord's activities. I must admit that I highly doubt your story, sir," the older man raised a hand to silence any comment and turned to the door. "Serenity! Where is the tea I requested!? Useless girl. . . ."  
  
"You have daughters, milord?"  
  
"I have two daughters and a near-dead son," Lord Tsuniko answered curtly.  
  
"And are your daughters wed?" the messenger's eyes seemed to bulge from their sore, red sockets as he waited a response.  
  
"No. Neither girl has been married off."  
  
"They are too young, then?"  
  
The lord shook his head. "Far from. I am not certain how old a girl is when she is married in the south, but here, they are no more than fourteen."  
  
"And your daughters would be.?"  
  
"What concern are my daughters to you?"  
  
Serenity entered the room and froze as he father spoke. Her large blue eyes leapt to the man slouched in the chair. Surely this decrepit-looking man would not request a bride! "I have your tea, father."  
  
"Ah, quite a bit older, I see," the messenger jeered as Serenity poured the hot water over the green tea leaves. "Then I have come to the correct household."  
  
"Leave us, Serenity," her father commanded in a curt and abrupt voice.  
  
"Father?"  
  
"Do you question me, child?!" the lord raised an angry eyebrow.  
  
"No, sir. Excuse me," she murmured as she left the room.  
  
Lord Tsuniko noticed the manner in which the messenger eyed Serenity. "She is sixteen, and her sister, Columbia, is nineteen next month. Am I to believe that you do not inquire for yourself?"  
  
"I have no interest in your daughters, milord. With no offense intended, of course," he paused. "My lady, the queen, wishes for you to end Lord Shields' façade and force him into some arrangement where he returns to the palace as Queen Beryl has requested. He will not want to go, milord. He will be quite adamant on that fact. I would suggest that you befriend both the Lord Shields and his four generals. They are easy enough to impress or converse with. Offer them a room or two, perhaps?"  
  
"You have done nothing to appease my appetite of questions, messenger."  
  
The small man chuckled. "Of course, of course. I will come to that. Firstly, however, you need to understand that Lord Shields would not stay with you for a long duration should you immediately insist that he drop his pretense of being a soldier. Hire the group to work for you over the winter and eventually mention the letter you received from the queen. Do not do so until the heart of winter has spread over your already frozen north. I would then suggest that you offer him one of your daughters. Being unable to escape physically may apply the extra pressure needed in such an operation as this."  
  
"You bore me, messenger."  
  
"Does this?" the man threw an obscenely large bag of gold on the table. "I did not think so. This will be the first of many should you trap the Lord Shields in his own game. He will introduce himself as 'Endymion.' I suggest you take notice of him before someone else does. Good day, milord."  
  
When Lord Tsuniko finally looked up from the gold pieces covering the small table, his tea had gone cold and the messenger had disappeared. 


	5. Classic First Impressions

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Author's Note: Sailor Moon still isn't mine *sigh*, but I can hope, right? *laughs* I hope you guys enjoy the next chapter! I'd like to especially thank *KIWI* whose constant feedback I just adore! Thanks! Enjoy!! There'll be more soon!  
  
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Serenity cast a doubtful look in the shop's window where they displayed a vibrant painting of a blood red flower with a dark green stem; she had never seen such a flower before; nothing like that grew anywhere in the snow. Some trees managed to produce something of a flower in the summer months, but the continuous snow and biting cold made it nearly impossible to have anything close to the plant the picture portrayed. Her blue eyes seemed stuck to the painting, though, and for the past ten minutes, Serenity had done nothing but stare at it.  
  
"'Tis a fine piece of work, isn't it, little Serenity?" a older man murmured as he came to stand beside the entranced female. "Never seen one myself, of course. I've never left the north, much less this town. You brother's medicine is ready. The apothecary is holding it for you, but asked that I come by to remind you of it. They close soon. You should be heading home, anyway, if you want to avoid the tavern rush."  
  
Serenity nodded absently to the hunched man. Lord Feriu was a minor noble who assisted her father with the manor's finances. She had never known him well, but felt comfortable in his presence. "Thank you. I will see to that now. I've wasted enough time here," she curved her head in a small bow and moved towards the apothecary across the street.  
  
The sharp sound of horses hooves crunching against the icy snow brought her head up from the ground. Leaping back to the sidewalk where she had stood only moments before, Serenity just missed being trampled by the first speeding gelding. Her eyes narrowed into angry slits as the rider of the creature did not turn or slow his horse. Pushing herself from the ground, Serenity's fist clamped a ball of snow into a quickly formed ball of ice and released. Her eyes widened as she realized what she had done. The snowball landed squarely on the back of the cloaked rider's head with a loud thump that even she could hear from the relatively large distance separating them. Lord Feriu's mouth moved without any audible sounds coming forward, and Serenity did not take the time to hear his words. She snatched her basket from the ground and took off for the apothecary.  
  
Endymion seized his horses reigns and grabbed at the back of his head to see what had hit him with such force. Removing clumps of ice and snow from the weave of his cloak, Endymion spun his gelding to face down the street. No one was looking in his direction, each person behaving as though nothing out-of-place had occurred. He was concentrating so intently on the throb in the back of his head that he did not hear Zoicite's laughter until Nephrite added his less-silent chortle.  
  
"Why are you laughing? I could have been hurt."  
  
"By a snowball? We have more faith in you than that, Endymion," Jedeite chided, fighting to keep the smile from his face. "What did you expect? You nearly plowed the small thing over."  
  
"Small thing? What small thing? Nothing 'small' could have thrown that iceball, Jedeite," Endymion muttered before returning his cold eyes to the road they had intended to travel. "The office is not far from here. Whoever that child was has disappeared anyway."  
  
Zoicite snorted laughter, but nodded her agreement. Endymion raised a single eyebrow and narrowed his spark-filled blue eyes. The female general returned his glare; however, she heeled her horse towards the enlistment office for soldiers wishing to join the northern forces. Kunzite followed her closely, his silvery hair flowing from the corners of his black cloak.  
  
"You may wish to be more careful, Endymion. You don't need to make enemies in a town we have only just come to," Jedeite commented quietly.  
  
Endymion considered him and finally looked towards Zoicite and Kunzite.  
  
"I'm sorry. I suppose that I'm just tired. It's been a long trip," he admitted as his horse moved forward.  
  
Nephrite laughed with good-natured humour. "You're not tired, Endymion. You're just being yourself. Try to lighten up a little. Maybe smile more or something? Don't take life to seriously either way, my friend, it all ends the same way in the end, right?"  
  
"Right. . . ," Endymion's horse surged beneath him and plunged down the street.  
  
Serenity watched from the window as the bay gelding began to run on the icy street again. Her face was hot with anger, although she could not directly place its source. For now, however, she could excuse her anger as a response to the horse's treatment; it could very easily break a leg by running on the uneven ground. The apothecary was warm making the layers of clothing she wore uncomfortable and awkward.  
  
"Here you are, Serenity. Master Shingo should use these as he did his last prescription. I've changed their potency, however. I thought, considering the recent developments in his health, that the stronger pills would be a wise decision," the alchemist handed her a small brown bag from over the solid oak counter. "Send him my best wishes, will you? I do hope that he has a speedy recovery from here on in."  
  
"So do I," Serenity nodded. She bowed slightly before leaving the shop. The cold air outside hit her roughly; the cold air a sharp and cruel contrast to the enveloping heat within the apothecary. Tucking the brown bag inside of her cloak, she set out to find her father.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
Lord Tsuniko had been waiting in the stables as the messenger had instructed for nearly two hours. Aside from the random stable-hand, his only company remained the horses and other barn animals. He had never been a man to mind the cold, but tardiness was high on his list of annoyances. The sound of approaching horses relieved a weight that he had not been aware of holding. The 'soldiers' the messenger had spoke of did exist.  
  
Lord Tsuniko moved into the center of the stable to better see the approaching group. As soon as he had counted five forms among the mass, he moved outside infront of the stable doors. The five horses were pulled up, and each rider dismounted. Lord Tsuniko frowned upon seeing that one of them was a female; a female with a rather large and threatening sword. He dipped his head in greeting and motioned to himself with a gloved hand.  
  
"My name is Lord Haroko Tsuniko, and I have come to offer you a place in my manor until you are able to find a suitable accommodation," the lord began, eyeing each soldier carefully as he spoke to judge their reactions. "I must admit that I do not normally offer strangers a place in my home; however, I have noticed that you are soldiers--I saw you enter the enlistment office and come out bearing papers of assignment--and being that I was also one once, I have come to trust people of your standing. I have need of assistance on my manor with fall and winter coming shortly. My only son has been ill this past year and is unable to help me as he should. In exchange for your work, I will provide food and shelter for you all."  
  
"So, in truth, you wish to have us stay at your manor as hired help?" Zoicite asked curtly.  
  
Lord Tsuniko raised his hands. "No, no. It is not to that degree. I simply will need help with small chores that my daughters cannot do, like cut firewood. I would be most grateful if you would accept my offer."  
  
Endymion cast a doubtful look at the noble. There was something in his manner that distressed the younger man. Not to mention that the proposal itself was questionable. Yet something inside of him said to go to the manor and stay there, if only for a short duration. Endymion found himself nodding. "We will accept your offer, Lord Tsuniko, and with much thanks to you for your kind gesture."  
  
The older man smiled briefly before motioning to their horses. "We may as well leave now, then. My manor is a fair distance from town, and I do not see cause to delay the trip. My daughter is late, anyway. She knows her way home, though."  
  
Endymion nodded as though he was not actually listening to the older man speak; his eyes held a far-off look as he gazed into the beds of snow in the bleak distance. The four generals remounted and Endymion followed suit. Lord Tsuniko was quick in preparing his own horse and it did not take long for the group to set out.  
  
Serenity reached the stable in time to see her father on his horse leading a group of five in the direction of their home. Her blood boiled hot as she saw the same bay gelding and rider. Her hands clenched into acrimonious fists and would have continued to tense had the basket's handle not bit into her wound from the barbed wire fence. Crying out in pain, Serenity dropped the basket and pulled the glove from her hand. Yet again, the angry, red slash was covered in blood. Looking up from the wound, she caught sight of the unknown rider's cloak before it disappeared over a snowy crest. In her mind, it somehow made sense to blame him for her pain.  
  
So she did. 


	6. The Reminder

Author's Note: I own Sailor Moon! Mmmuhahahahahahaha!!!!! *evil grin* Opps, hold on a sec. *confers with person to immediate right* Oh, never mind. I stand corrected. I apparently DO NOT own Sailor Moon (I could never be so brilliant, I suppose) or anything of the like! *pouts* Oh well, on with the story! Thanks to all of you who R&R this work. . . this is for you guys!!!!  
  
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Lord Tsuniko was impressed with his guests' horses; they seemed well- adapted to the snow despite their short exposure. The ride was short, and no one was showing any signs of fatigue. The stable-hands had left for the day, but Lord Tsuniko insisted that the group leave their horses in the care of his daughter, ensuring them that she would be well-able to deal with all six animals in addition to her own. Endymion eyed his horse carefully before agreeing to Lord Tsuniko's offer.  
  
"Perhaps we can go inside the manor, then? I will have Columbia prepare us some tea. You do drink tea, don't you?" the older man laughed. "I must admit that I had a penchant for sake, myself. Perhaps I should have Columbia bring up some of that poison, instead."  
  
"Columbia is your daughter?" Nephrite inquired.  
  
"Yes, one of them. The other is Serenity; she is the one who will take care of our animals," the lord paused. "I suppose that you will have to return to town sometime tonight, will you not? I am guessing that Lord- Commander Gizborne was not available for you earlier?"  
  
"They said he would be in the tavern tonight and that we could have our applications approved then," Zoicite intoned.  
  
Lord Tsuniko laughed. "That would be Gizborne for you. He's a good man, though, when he's not a raving drunkard. At least you're guaranteed to catch him in the a good mood. He's got a talented daughter, that one. Not useless like my girls. It's kind of sad Ami can't use her knowledge, being that she's a woman and all. No offense, General Zoicite."  
  
She merely turned her head away and looked to the manor in the distance. Kunzite stepped forward to distract attention for Zoicite's non- conformist behavior, but was interrupted by a new voice.  
  
"I wish to speak to Endymion. I have a letter for him."  
  
Endymion turned around to face a small man carrying a burlap sack with a red and blue crest on the flap. "I am Endymion."  
  
"If I may speak to you in private, milord," the man spat.  
  
Lord Tsuniko motioned for the other generals. "We will go to the manor, then. Please let yourself in, Endymion, when you are done here."  
  
Endymion watched the group depart, his intense eyes dancing with blue ice. He turned to the shriveled man. "You have a letter for me?"  
  
The man pulled a wax-sealed envelope from the folds in his robes and handed it to Endymion. "I suspected you know who it is from, so I leave you with only this: do not ignore her, milord. She has a foul disposition when upset."  
  
Endymion turned the envelope over to view the wax seal. Two serpents coiled around the wax blob, biting each others tails. Their eyes were mad-- crazed--as though they knew nothing aside from delirium and lust for blood. The letter felt wrong, felt evil, but he could not sense the source of this distress. His ability to sense the auras (he knew no better word) of objects and people had remained consistent throughout his remembered life. Everyone had an emotion, a feeling, a sensation attached to them; he often depended on the connection to judge people. Jedeite said that it was a talent, a bond with the earth because he could only sense things of the planet. Had Zoicite not been wearing a small meteor rock on her neck when they first met, and later removed it, Endymion would not have known the association between his ability to sense things and the earth.  
  
Endymion laughed as he recalled the first time he had seen her without the necklace, the first time he realized that she was female. The meteor stone possessed some magic he did not understand. Zoicite had enlisted the assistance of a sorceress during her quest to join the army. Females were not permitted to be recruited for any job, and the policy had proven impossible to lift or alter. The spirited general was not willing to accept such a limited role. The sorceress had successfully devised a magic that would allow Zoicite to pass as a male. In all outward appearances, she seemed very much a man. Consequently, when Zoicite wore the necklace, Endymion could not sense anything of her nature, but when it was removed, she was an open book--just as everyone else.  
  
Just like the letter.  
  
Endymion broke the wax seal and pulled paper out from the envelope.  
  
**************************************************************************** **********  
  
Lord Endymion,  
  
By this time I am certain that you know that you cannot evade me as easily as you may have wished. For your sake, we will pretend that you are in the north seeking a suitable wife--which will be your goal, Endymion. Do not mistake that! There is more to your inheritance than what your first letter explained. As you may have noted, I did not bother to write you regarding such trivial affairs as inheritance in the previous letter; I left the first letter up to one of my officials. This, however, is not the same case. I did expect you to run from the very idea of nobility. The essence of your character demands it. However, Endymion, you must do as the first letter outlined by next spring. You have less than a year. I suggest you hurry. As I mentioned before, I am not easily evaded or avoided. I will find you, and should you upset me, I will deal with you in ways you will wish you had never discovered. I trust you understand my position, Endymion. There is more to this than you know.  
  
Awaiting Your Return,  
  
~Beryl~  
  
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Endymion pushed his ebony hair away from his ice eyes and looked to the messenger. The little man had disappeared without a trace. Chills raced through his body and goosebumps prickled his flesh as he walked out onto the snow. The messenger had left no footprints. Moving towards the manor, Endymion tucked the letter in his tunic's front pocket. He didn't like the letter, and would have loved to forget the reprimanding and commanding words written. Yet he knew that he would not be able to simply leave the letter alone. Endymion sensed his fate changing. . .a fact he could do nothing about--except fight it once it arrived.  
  
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	7. Second Chance At First Impressions

Author's Note: THE LONG AWAITER CHAPTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well, upon consulting with the voices in my head, I have discovered that my plan to own Sailor Moon has failed--again--so I don't own Sailor Moon or anything of the like. *smiles* I hope you guys like this. . . it's the long-awaited meeting. . .please, don't get your hopes up too high, though!!!  
  
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No matter how much she pushed her horse, Serenity could not catch up to her father or the cloaked riders with him. She eventually gave up, settling into a slow canter. The estate appeared over the next rise, and Serenity exhaled a sigh of relief; she would be able to rest in only a few moments.  
  
The stable smelt of hay and horses, its aroma reassuring to the young woman. She dismounted from her dapple-gray horse and led it to its stall. A white piece of paper, with rough writing scrawled over it, caught her eye. She could feel her face growing hotter as she read the words.  
  
"He expects me to groom and care for seven horses?! Has he lost his mind!?!" her outburst startled her mare, and the horse shied. Serenity tugged lightly on the reigns to keep the giant creature from rearing up and dropped the paper to the ground. "Seven horses?. . . he is insane!"  
  
Serenity, however, did not wish to incur her father's anger. She put her spotted mare in her stall and proceeded to quickly brush her down after removing the saddle and bridle. The horse nipped playfully at the waist of Serenity's skirts, its breath warm through the layer of clothing. "He has lost his mind, hasn't he, Yukiko? At least you're still sane. Between father and Columbia, I'm amazed that I possess a sound mind in any form!"  
  
Yukiko seemed to listen, her ears pinned back towards Serenity gently. She was a wonderfully well-behaved animal. Serenity would often come and visit with her, stroking her silky coat or feeding her special treats. The young woman rested her head on the mare's shoulder, wisps of her silvery-blond hair floating in front of her crystalline eyes. "This will take forever, Yukiko. I still have six more horses left. I still need to give Shingo his medicine, too. He is insane."  
  
Stroking her horse's muzzle a final time, Serenity moved to the next stall. The familiar bay gelding stared at her with dancing black eyes. "I know you," Serenity frowned. "I know you very well. Do you remember me? You nearly plowed me over earlier."  
  
Serenity could not help but feel offended by the horse. He had done nothing, of course; it was his rider that Serenity had developed an immediate spite for. She entered the stall. The gelding was favouring his right side. Serenity dropped closer to the ground, forgetting entirely that he was a strange horse, and began to feel his ankles for inflammation and heat. His right front tendon seemed to burn her hand as her skin glided over the area.  
  
"That jerk!" she snapped, angry that the horse had been injured by its arrogant and careless rider. "That utter jerk!"  
  
After removing the saddle (there was something written on the back, but she did not register what it said), Serenity moved quickly from the stall and retrieved a cooling salve for inflammation and a wrap. Dropping them infront of the stall door, she went outside with a bucket to retrieve ice water. She did not have to travel far. The water barrel was full and the ice on top was easy to break through. She brought the overflowing bucket back inside, the water sloshing over the edges and onto her skirts.  
  
Heat squeezed the bay horse's front right tendon in such a way as to suggest a sprain. Serenity angrily rubbed the cooling salve that smelt of iodine and peppermint onto the lame joint, keeping the anger away from her hands and handling the sore creature gently. Thin hair hairs fell from the horse's coat and stuck to Serenity's hand along with the sticky salve. Wiping her small hand over her skirt to remove the unwanted mess, she snatched up the horse-wrap and began to bandage the animal's leg.  
  
"--hard to believe. I mean, that she found you up here, and so quickly too! I didn't think it was possible. I didn't think that letters could travel so quickly, even if she had heard of your departure the day we left," Nephrite muttered as he thumbed through the queen's commanding documents. "That must have been quite the messenger."  
  
"Strange, though," Zoicite added. "I did not see an animal supporting him. He just walked. Yet he left no footprints, just as Endymion said. And if he was so silent--"  
  
"Endymion?" Serenity looked at back of the horse's saddle to where she had seen writing earlier, but not bothered to look closely. The saddle read 'Endymion Shields.' Her blood began to boil.  
  
"Like he needed to say anything, Zoicite!" Nephrite snorted. "The letter screams by itself. Ain't that right, milord?"  
  
"I'm not a noble. Do not call me that," Endymion commented mildly before returning his cold eyes to the depths of the barn. "Who's in here?!"  
  
The generals looked up in surprise; they had not seen or heard anyone. Endymion had done this before, though--sensed someone or something.  
  
Endymion continued to listen; he swore that he had heard someone, even if his senses told him that their was no one in the stable aside from animals.  
  
Serenity's eyes became two angry slits that sparked and glowed venomously; she knew who that would be. He sounded just as arrogant as he behaved! After clenching her skirts in an immovable grip, she scooped up the bucket and salve and left the stall. Endymion raised a single, dark eyebrow at her as she locked the sturdy, wooden stall door.  
  
"What were you doing to my horse, stable-girl?"  
  
"I am not a 'stable-girl,'" Serenity spat, her neck tickling as the unseen hairs covering her baby-smooth skin prickled defensively.  
  
"Then what were you doing in my horse's stall?" Endymion snapped, his voice matching Serenity's established tone. Something about this girl tickled his mind and annoyed him.  
  
"Your horse is lame! And you left it to get worse, so I wrapped its ankle!" her breathing came in frustrated rasps, and she could not understand what it was about the man who towered above her petite form that infuriated her. This was their first time to speak together, and they were already prepared to snap each other's egos into oblivion--if not each other's necks!  
  
"My horse is not lame."  
  
"If you believe that, LORDLING, than you need a lesson in husbandry!"  
  
"Lordling!?!?!" Endymion stared at the young woman in utter disbelief. "I am much older than you, CHILD!"  
  
"I'm sixteen! What are you, lordling? Five!?!"  
  
"Try twenty, ORDANGO-ATAMA!" he retorted, his breathing coming heavier due to the yelling. What was it about her that brought him to yell? She had only just met him, and he had only just met her!!  
  
"Don't call me that!" Serenity cried out, clutching her hair protectively.  
  
"Maybe if you weren't such a LUMPHEAD, I wouldn't have to!" Endymion sneered, pleased to have found a sensitive topic in which to prod her. "Now get out of our way, ordango. We are going to the tavern. I'm certain that you could come with us, there's always room for more wenches there."  
  
Serenity ignored the man's harsh words, despite their sting. Why should anything that he said bother her? She had only met him; he meant nothing. . . right? She shook her head, her long silver-blond hair snaking down her back. "You cannot ride this animal."  
  
"I will decide that for myself. Now move, ordango!!"  
  
"NO!!" Serenity yelled back.  
  
The two generals watched in stunned silence. The Endymion they knew only seemed contemptuous in outward appearance; they had never actually witnessed him outwardly explode! They looked at the slighter figure as Endymion moved closer to actually tower over her. She did not appear to be mastered in any form; Endymion could not overshadow her, despite her obvious shorter stature. Her spirit seemed to blare and spark in his presence and challenge his own.  
  
The two stood (as face-to-face as they could considering the significant height difference) and glared into each other's eyes. Endymion's darker attributes--his deep ebony hair and black uniform--made the young woman's features seem lighter by comparison--as though she was a fallen angel, and Endymion her guardian, her protector. The two generals, however, were alone in their insight. Endymion and Serenity saw none of those qualities in each other--at least, none they were willing to admit.  
  
"I will remove you myself, ordango!!" Endymion snapped, his eyes trying to glare her own twin crystalline orbs into submission.  
  
"YOU WILL NOT TOUCH ME, LORDLING!" Serenity growled.  
  
Endymion clapped his hands on Serenity's cloaked shoulders and made the first motions of transporting her from infront of the stall door. He never had the chance to exert any force on her though, or move her even slightly from her position. Slamming her knee into his groin, she waited until his head was low enough to dump the ice-cold bucket of water. Endymion cried out in surprise as the frigid water moved through his clothing and down his back. Nephrite and Zoicite stood even more shocked than they had been previously, unsure of whether they should laugh or aid the now-sopping-wet soldier. Serenity dropped the empty bucket and salve onto Endymion's back and began to run for the main stable door--her escape and exit. The two generals did nothing to stop her departure, choosing to tend to Endymion instead.  
  
"Whoa, careful there," Kunzite murmured as he entered the barn.  
  
Serenity looked up at the solid wall she had slammed into. Her eyes locked on the man's long silver hair and sparkling blue orbs as they gazed down on her. Kunzite offered her a hand and helped Serenity back to her feet. "I'm sorry," she murmured.  
  
"You must be Serenity, right? My name is Kunzite. I was wondering if I would meet you today. Your father has mentioned you more than once this evening."  
  
"I'm sorry," Serenity pushed past the general and continued to run, shying from Jedeite as the other general appeared. "I really have to go."  
  
Jedeite turned to watch the young woman depart; she was in such a hurry. Kunzite, however, kept his attention within the barn. His love, Zoicite stood up from assisting the younger soldier. "Serenity, was it? She is quite forceful," the female general offered a wolfish smile. "I like her."  
  
"You would, Zoicite," Nephrite snorted. "You probably have wished to do much the same to our Endymion."  
  
"What happened?" Jedeite inquired as he accompanied Kunzite deeper into the barn. "Are you alright, Endymion?"  
  
"That stupid ordango-atama groined me!" he snapped, the anger in his voice still intended for the young woman who had so successfully evaded him.  
  
"'Ordango-atama?' Such an endearing nickname for someone you just met, Endymion," Kunzite chuckled.  
  
"She thought so too," Zoicite snickered.  
  
Jedeite rested a hand on his head. "You called her 'ordango-atama' to her face? Endymion! We warned you about trying to be nice to people here. Enemies are not a good thing to have, you know," the general chided. "It's no wonder she--reacted the way she did."  
  
"She started it!" Endymion protested.  
  
"Endymion! You sound like a child!! Wasn't it you that said that you didn't need babysitters? Or was that another soldier I know?"  
  
Endymion forced himself from the ground, swiping the ebony hair from his cool eyes. "I don't need babysitters, Jedeite," he wiped the random pieces of straw and sawdust from his clothing. "She is maddening! I will get her back for that!!"  
  
"I, personally, enjoyed her company," Zoicite commented. "I think that we should have her more often."  
  
"I invited her to come," Endymion smiled slightly, remembering just how her face had scrunched up and wrinkled--it had been. . . . "I suggest that we find another accommodation quickly. I do not want to stay by her longer than is absolutely necessary. . . . um. . . . I need another horse."  
  
Kunzite smiled, glad to see that Endymion would still listen to reason despite his new desire to spite Serenity. "I will ride with Zoicite, you may have my horse."  
  
The ride into the tavern was quiet. Kunzite and Zoicite enjoyed the time that they had in each other's arms. Nephrite was happily planning out what he would say to the Lord-Commander Gizborne. Jedeite, however, sat watching Endymion, noting how a soft smile would play on his normally flat lips every once in awhile. The general shook his head and said nothing. And Endymion (whose lips WERE pulling into a smile every-so-often) thought of Serenity--how her face seemed to spark and light up when he had challenged her--how she had been so fearless and unconquerable--how she had given him something. . . given him a sense of life--but he did not realize the thoughts.  
  
They were entirely unconscious--an echo of his heart that his mind could not yet hear. 


	8. Ami

Author's Note: Guess what I did!!! I went up to the big corporate building where they keep all those stuffy business types who *owned* Sailor Moon and took control of their headquarters!! Yes! That's right! Not only was I in charge of all things directly related to Sailor Moon, I was sitting in the penthouse-type office ordering people and writing more fiction for you (you being all of the people who R&R my work--YOU GUYS ARE THE ABSOLUTE BEST!!!!!!!! EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!!!!!) Thanks for not flaming me. I hope you enjoy the next chapter. Oh! By the way, I *did* wake up and came to the conclusion that I *was* dreaming. *sigh* So I DON'T own Sailor Moon, or anything of the like. Enjoy!!!! Don't forget to R&R!  
  
Marsh Angel: this is especially for you--thanks for the "persuasive" R&R!  
  
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No lights were on in Shingo's bedroom save that of a single, beside candle that flickered softly with the gentle breathing inside of the small quarters. The sickly man lay passed out on his bed, exhausted from his examination. A blue-haired girl sat beside his unconscious form and watched the rise and fall of his chest; his breathing was weak.  
  
The door opened quietly and made the young girl leap from the side of Shingo's bed; however, it was a familiar face that poked through the doorways. "Serenity! You frightened me!" a blush crept into her rose- ivory face. "I thought that you were your father."  
  
"Hey, Ami-chan!" Serenity nodded before entering the room and closing the door. "I've brought Shingo's medicine. How. . . how is he doing? I mean, really?"  
  
Ami's aqua eyes looked away from Serenity, which would have been enough of a response, but Ami knew the Serenity deserved more of an answer. "It's been nothing short of a miracle that he's lived this long, Serenity, but I do not think that he will recover. The fever--" she paused as the words froze in her throat. "The fever is spreading. I do not think that he will survive for another week. . . . I don't mean to dishearten you, Serenity, but this is the knowledge I have. The doctor said much the same thing to Lord Tsuniko this morning. I was instructed to stay here, because. . . no, never mind. I--"  
  
"Because he has other patients who will live, right, Ami-chan? I understand that, I suppose. I mean, if you cannot do any more for someone, why should another person--someone with a chance, hope--suffer?" Serenity was shaking; even the doctor had abandoned Shingo. Yet, when she looked at the petite, blue-haired woman, Serenity understood that she was not alone in her pain. Of course, Ami would also be feeling the loss of Shingo-- maybe in more ways than Serenity. "I'm sorry, Ami-chan. It's just--even after all this time--to know that you can do nothing but sit and watch someone you love die. . . . I know that you understand, Ami-chan, and I'm so sorry. You're going to feel Shingo's loss just as much as I will, maybe more. I'm so sorry."  
  
"No, please, Serenity. I should be able to do something, but I can't- -I'm so sorry," the tears in her aqua eyes quivered and bounced, but did not fall. "I will not give up, though. I will do everything in my power to heal Shingo, but--"  
  
The man shifted in his bed and grabbed Ami's small hand in his bear- sized grip. The young woman jumped in surprise, but settled upon seeing the older man's root-beer eyes on her. She offered him a watery smile. He squeezed her hand gently. . .just as he had when they first met. . . .  
  
**********************************FLASHBACK********************************* *******  
  
Ami's short hair fluttered away from her face as she galloped her horse over the gravel-covered snow. Her father was in a fowl mood, cursing and swearing--knocking over what unbreakable objects he could find. The new recruits failed their first tests, and even though the war was over, the threat of civil disruption was still high. Ami ran her horse in the direction of Doctor Makai; he had been teaching her what he knew, despite her sex.  
  
She was enjoying the cool wind on her face when her horse slipped on the uneven ground. The next few seconds were a blur, but Ami distinctly remembered her leg being trapped beneath the writhing animal. Her horse stood, slightly lame in its haunches, but was in better condition than Ami. In spite of all of her training, Ami did not know what to do with her malformed leg; it had twisted into an awkward angle not possible for a human without having suffered a severe break. She would have stayed on the path, freezing and yet not noticing because of the shock in her system, had Shingo not rode by.  
  
He was wearing a cloak that shadowed his face and rode his white horse. Even then, Ami knew that he was something of a knight--her personal prince. He was amazingly calm as he looked over her leg. He devised a splint from the branches of a nearby tree and lifted her onto his horse, mindful of what pained her. Yet none of those chivalrous acts where what stuck out in her mind. Out of all that occurred during their meeting, Ami remembered the moment before he lifted her from the ground in his arms that were then strong and healthy. She remembered how he had squeezed her hand gently, softly--an unspoken promise that swore that he would forever be with her, be there to help her no matter what happened. The wind had picked up in that one blissful moment and blown Shingo's hood from his face. Their eyes met, and with both their faces uncovered and disclosed, they smiled and understood each other--understood that they were intended for each other.  
  
***********************************END FLASHBACK**********************************  
  
Shingo squeezed Ami's hand again. "Amiko, don't cry. . . please? It's okay. . . . You're doing your best."  
  
The poor girl could only shrug off his comments and turn her face from his innocent, searching eyes. "Shingo-chan, I--"  
  
"No, no more tears," he touched her cheek briefly with his fingertips, colouring her face pink and catching her tears. "We knew that this would come. It's okay. . . . It's okay. Be strong for me, Amiko? Don't be sad, not now. I'm still here, and I'll stay with you for as long as you need me."  
  
Serenity wished she wasn't in the room. It wasn't that she was repulsed by their affection for each other; on the contrary, their love gave her hope and joy. But in this moment, she felt like an invader. She knew that both loved her very much and that neither one would ask her to leave. However, she did not want to ruin their time together; instead of drawing attention to herself by moving from the room, she stood--somewhat awkwardly--and waited for them to acknowledge her again.  
  
Long moments dragged by with only the occasion hushed murmur breaking the otherwise impenetrable silence. Ami finally looked up and smiled at Serenity, her aqua eyes mildly wet, but drier than before. Shingo had lapsed into another round of unconsciousness. "I finally figured it out, Serenity--why Shingo has been living all this time," Ami confided quietly. "It's my fault. He's been suffering because of me. . . so he wouldn't break any promises to me."  
  
Serenity came and sat next to Ami on the foot of the bed; she didn't know what to say. "I don't understand, Ami-chan."  
  
Her friend's lip quivered as she spoke her next few words. "I don't think he's going to wake up again, Serenity. I-I told him that I would be alright. I told him that he could sleep and that I would take care of myself. I--" she burst into fresh tears, her quiet sobs wracking her entire body.  
  
Serenity ducked close and hugged her friend. "It will be alright, Ami- chan. Just wait, you'll see."  
  
"You don't understand," she whispered between sobs. "I released him!"  
  
The blond hair girl touched one of her ordangos as she thought, a habit she had picked up as a child. She understood what Ami was saying; she had no idea how to respond, though. "It will turn out well in the end, Ami-chan. Even if Shingo does pass on--" her own voice threatened to break; she could not imagine life without her charismatic brother, "he will be well, Ami- chan. And so will you. Why don't you sleep in here, tonight. That way, if he does wake up, you will be able to speak to him, be able to give him your strength and love. I think he'll need that for where he will be crossing."  
  
Ami merely nodded her head, too exhausted to complain. Serenity dragged a fleece blanket from the closet across the room and set the blue-haired woman in a chair next to Shingo's bed. Her aqua eyes were already beginning to fade into unfocussed orbs, but she did manage to smile at Serenity. Serenity dipped her head and tiptoed from the room, closing the door behind her quietly. Once outside of the darkened quarters, Serenity hoisted her skirts above her knees and ran to her room one floor above. Her bare feet echoed dully in the empty hall. 


	9. Insomnia

Author's Note: so, I've begun to protest outside of that big corporation building--demanding that they restore me to power. For some reason, I keep getting these strange looks! Like they have no idea what it is I'm going on about!! Hmm, imagine that. . . . So! As I've said before, I do NOT own Sailor Moon or anything of the like (can you imagine what kind of talent I'd have to have to think up something so utterly ingenious?!?--not happening!!), but I am a severe fan gone mad. . . . Shucks, darn! Oh well, on with the story!!! I love all my R&R's! You guys make my day! This one can be for. . . mmm. . . TALULA.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
  
  
Endymion was still cold by the time they returned from the tavern. Sure, it wasn't the smartest thing in the world to go riding out into below- freezing weather soaking wet with ice water, but he could never have let the ordango-atama have the satisfaction of seeing him go back into the house and change because of something SHE did. He just knew that her grin of success would push him into insanity. 'Serenity' indeed!  
  
"More like 'Dissonance,'" the shivering soldier muttered as he grabbed his bedclothes from his travel pack.  
  
The room Lord Tsuniko had prepared for him was nothing short of amazing. A large window jutted out towards the fields of snow outside with seats beneath the white sill for him to sit on. His bed was covered in fleece and fur, the pillows filled with goose-down and other soft feathers. When he had first sat on the bed, he had thought it to be too soft, but upon spending some time enveloped in the endless warmth of the bed, Endymion concluded that he could not have had a better place to sleep. Currently, however, the chill in his body had settled deep in his bones and was forbidding any such rest.  
  
Endymion sat up and glanced around the room for the towels he had requested the servant bring him. He caught sight of the plain white terrycloth draped over the chair beside the window. The bath was not far from his room and so when he slipped from his room in his bedclothes, he did not expect to run into anyone. The tiles were cold against his bare feet as they slapped quietly against the floor. Only three candles were lit in the hallway, one of which continuously flickered in an unseen breeze. The door to the bathing room was open, the lights inside were off, and Endymion quickly entered the room, lighting a small torch-like candle that hung on the wall.  
  
Hot coals were already warming the bath in the center of the warm room. A fire burned in the hearth at the far corner. Lord Tsuniko had mentioned that he often took advantage of a warm bath in the middle of the night; it apparently helped him to sleep. The noble had also promised that the soldiers would not need fear an interruption from him for the evening, and that they were welcome to use the bath without fear of disturbance (at which point he had looked pointedly at Zoicite and Kunzite--both of them had blushed at his comment).  
  
Endymion tossed his towel over a small wicker chair that resided behind the door. He proceeded to remove his sleeveless white shirt and loose black pants. He placed them beside the towel, draped over the back of the chair. The room suddenly seemed cooler without clothing to warm his body, and Endymion quickly submerged his sore, staunch muscles into the wet heat, the spa-like water immediately enveloping his solid, sinewy form. His ice-blue eyes closed as he relaxed; for the first time in months, he would have some peace. . . .  
  
Or so he thought.  
  
The water was warm and welcoming, the silence soothing and calm, but thoughts of Serenity--the very source of his initial cold--swamped his mind and obliterated any hope of repose. He tried positioning himself differently, placing his back towards the door, or facing the fire; he tried humming random tunes that came into mind; he tried to think of his assignment with the northern military. . . of the manor. . . of Lord Tsuniko's hospitality. . . of Zoicite and Kunzite. . .of . . .  
  
. . .it really was no use, Serenity was still in the recesses of his mind, forcing her way into his foremost conscious.  
  
Accompanying thoughts of the young woman who had so easily evaded him and made a mockery of his anger, were emotions close to rage. Endymion found himself tensing--as though he had cause to defend himself from physical harm--as he thought of how confident she seemed, appeared, looked, behaved. . . . His sore muscles knew no rest despite the soothing warmth of the water. As though it wasn't enough that she should disturb his sleep (partially because he was too cold to get comfortable, but mostly because his mind could not be silenced), now she disturbed him from enjoying a bath.  
  
"This is ridiculous," he muttered beneath his breath as he pushed his hair from his eyes with a wet hand. His ebony strands stuck up in strange spikes, but remained out of his cold blue twin orbs and allowed him better sight. He shifted himself so that he was facing the wall perpendicular to the bathing room's doorway. Settling deeper into the hot bath, he closed his eyes and tried to shut out his annoyance with Serenity.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
Serenity could not sleep. Try as she might, the young woman could do nothing but toss and turn with thoughts of Shingo's health. Even when her hyperactive mind had calmed thoughts of her sickly brother, Serenity did not know rest. . . thoughts of the man who had made her so anger earlier refused to let her be. Consequently, when Serenity jolted upright in a fury of rage she nearly screamed in frustration.  
  
"This is ridiculous!! Why can't I just forget HIM!!!! Is HE going to haunt me FOREVER?!?!" she clutched a teddy bear by its neck and proceeded to wring its stuffing until she realized what she was doing. Her crystalline eyes widened, and she hugged the bear to apologize. "I'm sorry. . . . He has me going insane, doesn't he? And you want to know the worst thing?"  
  
The bear stared at her with its black button eyes, but said nothing. Serenity took the bear's silence as an affirmation to her question.  
  
"I might have to see HIM again! He has to come back for his horse-- the poor animal! I can't even imagine what absolute TORTURE it must be to have HIM as an owner! I wouldn't wish that fate on anyone!!" she snuggled with the bear and tried to sleep yet again, but dreams and rest continued to evade her. "I HATE HIM!!!!!!!"  
  
Serenity left the stuffed animal on the bed and jumped from the raised platform where her mattress lay. She began to pace. Her bare feet thumped inaudibly on the long slates of wood on her bedroom floor. She wished that someone else was up so that she would have someone to talk to, have someone suffer with her and share her misery. In her mind, Endymion did not deserve her time in any form; yet here she was being forced to devote endless hours to thoughts and emotions regarding how much she 'despised' him. She had conflicted with people before, but never had they kept her up until all hours of the night!  
  
"I bet you he cursed me, teddy. I bet you that he's a witch--or a warlock, whatever--and I bet you that he's just killing himself laughing about how much fun it is to keep me awake!" she jutted out her bottom lip and stomped her foot in a childish fashion. In a more quiet voice she continued. "I hate him!"  
  
She continued in this manner for nearly a half hour before deciding that she would not be able to sleep. Pulling open the small closet in the corner of her humble room, Serenity removed a small baby blue terrycloth towel; it was the last one in the closet for some reason. Under normal circumstances, she would have a number of larger towels, but the servants did not seem to have filled it yet. Serenity dismissed the shortage; she could easily do without the luxury. Skirting quietly from her bedroom, she made her way to the bathing room. If she couldn't sleep, at least she could try to relax. . .  
  
. . .right?  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Lights were on in the bathing room when Serenity approached. She slowed her steps and tiptoed up to the closed door. Her father would often have bathes late at night, but he would sing or make some form of noise while in the bath. Pressing her ear to the door, Serenity did not hear anyone inside of the room. Experimentally tugging on the doorknob, she found that it was unlocked--her father must have simply forgotten to extinguish the candle when he had finished. Pushing the door open, Serenity entered the bathing room and closed the door behind her just as Kunzite and Zoicite rounded the far corner of the long hallway.  
  
Endymion opened his eyes and looked up to find *his* ordango-atama beginning to pull her socks off while facing the doorway. A devilish grin spread across his face; he knew that she would not do anything of the sort had she known that he was in the room. "Is this how you greet everyone, ordango-atama? Or is this just my own special treatment?"  
  
A loud scream silenced any following commentary from the soldier as Serenity threw herself behind the wicker chair and peeked out from the back. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY BATH!?!?!?"  
  
Without shame, Endymion cast her a sideways glance, arms raised above his head, and arched one of his ebony eyebrows. "I thought that I might try to relax, maybe get back some of the heat that YOU stole from me today!" he retorted heatedly; unconsciously, he was deeply amused with Serenity's dark blush and angry features. "What are YOU doing INVADING?"  
  
"How can I possibly be 'INVADING' in my own house!?!?!" she spat. "Aren't you supposed to be out whoring, LORDLING?"  
  
Endymion glared. "I don't go 'whoring,' ordango."  
  
"Being sexually promiscuous then," she glared; his disheveled, wet hair nearly broke her composure--he looked so cute.  
  
"I don't do that," Endymion found himself trying to best the young woman's glare just as he had before the ice water had ran down his back and into his clothing.  
  
"I don't really care if you do or not, lordling," she snapped. The pair fell silent, Serenity looking everywhere but at him, Endymion staring directly at her. She finally restored her previous glare. "Could you just turn around so I could leave?"  
  
Endymion laughed at her bashfulness. "Excuse me, ordango, but I am the one who has nothing on, here. Perhaps you should be the one to turn around while I get out," he liked the way her eyes flared when she was angry, although this penchant was only alive in his subconscious. He would never admit anything of the sort to himself. Serenity had dropped her innocent blue eyes again, and Endymion suddenly felt some regret for putting her in such an awkward situation. "You can have your bath, ordango. I'm done."  
  
"Like I'm going to go into anything that you've touched, lordling!" she squawked in revolt.  
  
Endymion's regret dripped away. "Either way, ordango-atama, I'm getting out."  
  
Serenity grabbed his shirt from over the chair and pulling it over her spaghetti-strap nightgown. Endymion watched, not quite sure what she was doing. When she grabbed his towel and wrapped it around her waist, he began to get concerned.  
  
"What are you doing, ordango?"  
  
"Leaving," she murmured while casting a vicious glare in his direction. "You have no sense, lordling. First you would ride a lame horse--"  
  
"I did not ride my horse," he said defensively. "I rode Kunzite's mare."  
  
Serenity stood up having properly concealed her bare shoulders and legs. "I really don't care!" she said exasperated; she still had not moved from behind the wicker chair. "You have no brain at all!"  
  
"Where did you form that conclusion?! I--"  
  
"You forced me into that conclusion, lordling! Within the first moments that I saw you!!" she threw her balled-up blue towel at him. "You nearly killed me!!!"  
  
"Killed you?! Are you insane?! No, wait, you don't NEED to answer that!" Endymion shook his head at her. "I would not have hurt you in the barn. Even if Zoicite and Nephrite weren't there."  
  
"The barn?!" Serenity looked at him with disbelief. "You're an idiot! I'm not talking about the barn!"  
  
"When else have I EVER had to put up with you?! I think that I'd remember the headache!"  
  
Serenity crossed her arms. "I'll throw harder next time so you don't forget!!"  
  
Endymion looked at the wet towel floating in the bath with a confusion. It took him a while to piece together what miniscule hints he had been given, to realize that it was her that had so accurately thrown the iceball at him. "That was you?"  
  
Serenity's eyes narrowed. "So nice of you to finally figure that out, lordling! Do you think that I'm like this to everyone?!"  
  
Endymion's devilish grin returned. "No. . . we already established that this was not the way that you greeted everyone. I apparently get special treatment."  
  
Serenity's hands clamped into angry fists as she was reminded of Endymion's condition. The two remained silent as they glared at each other. Her cheeks flushed to a deeper red, and she turned towards the door. . .  
  
. . . just as Kunzite and Zoicite swung the thick entrance open.  
  
Serenity fell back against the wall, her hand jumping to her already- swelling forehead. Kunzite popped his head around the door to see what he had opened it into, and his eyes widened in guilt. He was quickly by the stunned woman's side, pulling her hand from the wound. Zoicite, on the other hand, was muffling laughter behind her hand. She thought it particularly amusing to find the irritable soldier in the bath naked, looking more than ready to leap from the water, with such interesting company. Her fun, however, was cut short when Endymion motioned for her to bring him her towel.  
  
"Are you alright, Serenity? I am so sorry. I had no idea that you would be here, much less behind the door," Kunzite murmured as he inspected the lump with light fingers and tender care. "Lord Tsuniko told us to simply listen at the door, and if we did not hear anything, to push against it. We were under the impression that it would have been locked were anyone in here."  
  
"We stopped yelling at a bad time, I guess," Serenity murmured in a daze. Her head throbbed in pain, and before Kunzite had pulled her hand away, she had felt quite a large rise where her hair met her forehead.  
  
"I thought I did lock," Endymion muttered beneath his breath as Zoicite retrieved the young man's clothing from the wicker chair. She spared a glance at Serenity's bump and sighed--that would definitely leave a mark.  
  
"Zoi?" Kunzite called quietly. "Would you mind taking Serenity back to her room? She says that she can go by herself, but I would rather be safe."  
  
Zoicite cast a wistful glance at Kunzite before nodding her head in agreement. She doubted that Serenity would allow Endymion bring her back, and she would be too jealous if Kunzite even entered the younger woman's room. "Of course."  
  
Endymion shook off his concern as Zoicite supported Serenity and slipped a stabling arm around the dazed woman's petite waist. He stood in nothing but his pants, beads of water dripping down his back and chest as it fell from his tousled hair. When the two females had left, Kunzite raised a single silver eyebrow at Endymion. "Yelling?"  
  
"She's infuriating," the younger soldier responded with a glare.  
  
"Infuriating?"  
  
Endymion threw one of his hands towards the door in a frustrated gesture. "Everything she does is to spite me! She stole my shirt!!! And my towel!! Do you think that I'll see either of those again? I personally think that she'll burn them or drag them through the swine's pen!"  
  
"Such faith," Kunzite smirked. "Zoi did something like that to me once. Only she stole my sword and had it broken into five pieces. She tried to kill me with each of those splintered blades, you know."  
  
Endymion walked past the soldier shaking his head of ebony hair. "And how did you two end up together."  
  
"She figured that I was worth it after I stole back the fifth piece during our last fight," Kunzite laughed. "She's a spirited little thing-- so cute, persistent."  
  
The younger soldier had to laugh. He often wondered if Kunzite would find a blood-soaked youma 'cute' if it showed just as much persistence. Endymion excused himself from the bathing room and made his way back to his own quarters. Zoicite emerged from one of the rooms further down the hall and motioned for him to stop before going into his own.  
  
"She will be fine, Endymion. Although she will have a lump for the next few days," Zoicite smirked.  
  
"Why would I care?"  
  
Zoicite narrowed her fiery eyes at him. "I'm not stupid, Endymion. I saw how you nearly leapt out of the bath--completely naked!--to help her. Had I not brought you the towel fast enough, I think you would have."  
  
"At least now she really can't object when I call her 'ordango- atama."  
  
Zoicite gave him an odd look, not having heard what he said. "What?"  
  
Endymion rolled his eyes as though he was a child being lectured. "Nothing, Zoicite. I think Kunzite's waiting for you."  
  
Zoicite slapped his bare stomach, the impact hurting her more than him because he tensed. She offered him one of her playful, wolfish smiles. "You can tell me whatever you want, Endymion. I only thought that you might want to know."  
  
Endymion watched the general return to the bathing room. He felt nearly embarrassed by what she said, although he could not understand why. His ice-blue eyes traced up the hallway to the doorway where Serenity was presumably staying. Realizing what he was doing, the soldier forced himself into his room and onto his bed. Somewhere only moments before dawn, Endymion finally fell asleep.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ 


	10. Don't Leave Me

Author's Note:  
  
Yikes!!! Sorry that this took so long, guys!!!! I've been swamped in exams-- not that you wanted to know. You're just here to read, right? Okay, I'll stop my fingers from typing then. *sigh* Enjoy. . . and while you're enjoying, please note that I do not own Sailor Moon or anything of the like- -I'm just a thief with NO money--but lots of student loans.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
  
  
Silvery golden hair fanned out over a long, white feather pillow. Rose- milk skin lay hidden beneath the rough, scratchy fabric of the red and blue patchwork quilt. Outside, the sky was masked by the dusty gray and storm blue clouds that rolled across the bleak dome in an angry torrent of random movement. Equally enraged winds ripped over the snow-covered ground in small whirlwinds of fury. The air would be cold, biting, cruel, but the sleeping occupant of the bed was unaware of the unforgiving day beyond the safe warmth of her small bedroom. Snuggled into the blankets and secreted from the outside world, Serenity enjoyed a dreamless sleep.  
  
Ami watched the sleeping woman through bleak, tired eyes before her twin aqua orbs filled with salty, wet tears and blocked her vision. Her body was exhausted. Every fiber of her muscles stung and twitched as though someone had rammed a hot poker through the layers of her pale skin and sent sharp electrical shocks into the raw, bleeding wounds. Her eyes felt dry despite the constant flow of tears, and they felt heavy in her sockets, tired. Her long legs throbbed with the sore stiffness of pain gained from remaining stationery--without shifting once--for over an hour. She was too exhausted to wake Serenity. . .too exhausted to deal with any more emotions.  
  
Serenity, however, did not seem to share the blue-haired woman's sentiment and stirred in bed. Ami inhaled shakily--a result of her tears-- and waited patiently for the other woman's crystalline eyes to focus. Time seemed to slither along at an unnaturally slow pace as they looked at each other, one not registering what she saw. Serenity pushed her hair away from her face; the unbound strands fell back into her face.  
  
"Ami-chan?" she swiped at the sleep in the corner of her right eye, and she bolted upright in bed. "Shingo. . . . "  
  
"I couldn't--" the woman's voice broke. "I stayed until. . .until I really knew. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Serenity."  
  
The younger woman remained still at first, but eventually sat up in her bed. The headboard felt strangely cold and alien against her back. Even through the cotton of her pajama shirt, an unnatural chill radiated into her body. Suddenly, nothing felt natural, real. . .normal. Alive. What was it that Ami had just said? Something about being sorry? Something. . .something. . . .  
  
Raw sobs echoed dully in Serenity's ears. She struggled to see Ami, to see if the blue-haired woman was the source of the crying, but her vision failed her as tears welled to meet her cheeks. She, herself did not feel sad, and she couldn't understand why she couldn't stop crying. It was not the same type of sorrow as her friend. Serenity felt no emotions attached to the tears, and no sobs fell from her soft lips. "Ami-chan?"  
  
Ami came and sat next to Serenity on the bed. "H-he told me to tell you--" sobs broke her speech as she broke her feeble hold on her emotions. She was quick to regain some sign of composure and continued. "I-I let you sleep. . . . I didn't want to wake you. I didn't want to tell you."  
  
Serenity just watched as her friend broke into another convulsion of weeping. Ami seemed so alone; she sat on the bed and hugged herself. Her position would make a hug from Serenity an awkward and uncomfortable feat. "What did Shi--" she paused and hugged Ami--despite the obvious lack of ease--after realizing that her friend was truly suffering. Serenity had not been with Shingo when he died--had not watched his last feeble breathes as his lungs shakily screamed for the air that made rasping noises as it poured down her brother's dry, hollow throat. But Ami had. Ami had been with Shingo. Ami had loved Shingo. "You don't need to explain anything to me, Ami-chan. Maybe you should just rest. Here, you can have my bed."  
  
Ami began to allow Serenity to disburden her emotional turmoil and tuck her safely within the confines of the warm quilt, but realized that she could not break Shingo's trust. She had promised to tell Serenity. "No, Serenity. I need to tell you something first. You--you will not like them, but I promised I would let you hear what Shingo wanted to tell you."  
  
**************************FLASHBACK***************************************  
  
Shingo's eyes rolled from behind the closed lids and twitched as consciousness snapped into his seamless dream. He forced his dark eyes open to find Ami's aqua orbs close by. The young woman did nothing at first, too scared to move and frighten her hopes into oblivion. But gradually, she allowed her eyes to blink and the corners of her lips to ascend her face. Shingo was awake. Shingo's gaze was on her, and he was conscious.  
  
"Amiko--"  
  
"Shh, you should be asleep. You need your strength," she murmured into his palm before resting her lips on its callused exterior.  
  
Shingo's palm moved to cup her cheek. His large hand seemed to emphasize Ami's petite and delicate features--a rose in the paws of some rough beast. "Amiko. . . you know I do not need strength from my body now."  
  
Ami's eyes swam in angry tears. How could Shingo give up his life so easily?! Didn't he care for her at all. She tried to force her face out of his light grip, but found herself unable to tear away from his desperate, searching eyes.  
  
"Amiko. . . ."  
  
"No! You can't do this to me, Shingo! I need you! Don't you understand that at all?"  
  
Shingo's hand moved to her shoulder and pulled her closer to him. Ami collapsed on his chest, inhaling the smell of him with muted fervor; it was close to being her only reassurance. "I need you to be strong, Amiko. I need you to help Sere. I need you to tell her the truth. It will help her when I'm gone. Maybe she will find her strength."  
  
Ami tried to sit up, to question Shingo's decision, but the older man held her tightly, and she did not actually wish to part from him. "I don't think it's smart, Shingo. She could react very badly to it."  
  
"At first, she will," Shingo acknowledged, brushing his lips against Ami's cool forehead. His voice faded as he continued. "But she will need to know now more than ever. When I am gone, father will see that she and Columbia are both married off. He might care for them, but he sees nothing but more expenditures when he looks at them. Their dowries will attract men immediately if their character doesn't. Give her the strength she needs to stand up for herself, Amiko. You already have that, I know you do. Your spirit is utterly impenetrable, Amiko. You know that, don't you? You know I love you. . . . Always love you. . . . No matter what. . . . You won't forget that, will you, Amiko? Even if you meet someone else, you won't forget that I love you, will you?"  
  
"Shingo--" Ami sat up and pressed her fingers to his face in an attempt to keep him from drifting into sleep again. "Shingo?!"  
  
"Amiko. . . ?"  
  
Ami pressed her tear-kissed lips to Shingo's mouth lightly, gently. She withdrew, quivering and shaking in fear that he would really leave her. "Shingo?"  
  
Shingo's brown eyes beheld Ami's angelic face once more in joy before they fell into fear. "Amiko. . . ," his voice was faltering as his last words fell from his lips. "Amiko. . . ? Amiko, don't leave. . . don't leave me. . . . I'm so scared to die. . . . "  
  
Ami's mouth opened to promise him that she wouldn't leave, that he would be fine, but her tongue fell silent in her mouth. "Shingo?" she dropped her head to his chest. A small wail escape her lips. "No!!! Shingo!!"  
  
************************FLASHBACK ENDS**************************** 


	11. Protected by Roses

Author's Note: Wow!!! Thanks for the quick reviews, guys!!! I actually hadn't intended on ending it there (opps!!)--so this is the second half that (for some reason) did not upload. So it looks like this will just be an extra chapter (short, short, short chapter). I'm soooo sorry! I didn't mean to make it a 'cliffie;' I hope that no one is disappointed. . . Onto the story!!!!!  
  
Oh, and just a *quick* reminder regarding how I own Sailor Moon and everything related to it. . . . No, wait, that's not right! I DON'T own Sailor Moon or anything of the sort!! *breaks into sobs* But I'm going to try, darn it!! I'm going to try!!  
  
Then again. . . I think not.  
  
:) Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
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Serenity's face was more pale than the white pillow that she clutched close to her face. Ami sat, suppressing her own pain, and waited for Serenity to speak to her, to tell her anything. The silvery-blonde haired woman had not flinched when Ami had told her what Shingo could not. Ami had wanted to shake some emotion from her, some sign of life-filled feeling, but Serenity had just sat as though slapped into silence. The blue-haired woman did not know what upset Serenity more: the fact that her father was currently in the lower levels of the expansive manor making arrangements (not even a day after Shingo's passing!) for her and Columbia to be married and or--  
  
"He. . .he wasn't really my brother than, was he?"  
  
Ami jumped when Serenity's quiet voice broke through her internal thoughts. She was not quite sure how to respond to the question without bringing her friend more harm. "I--I think he was, Serenity. I don't think that it ever mattered to him."  
  
"But I'm not his real sister. . . . I'm not like Columbia. . . . I couldn't ever really be. . . ," Serenity's shoulders sagged. "I guess it kind of makes sense, though. I mean, Columbia's always been a little mean to me; maybe she's had a reason all this time. I haven't exactly made father happy. If he never wanted me to begin with--"  
  
"No!" Ami cried out quietly; she knew that the last thing Serenity needed right now was to feel as though she had been nothing more than a burden throughout the duration of her sixteen years of life. "It's not like that, Serenity. They just didn't know what to make of you--that's all. I mean, how would you feel if you found a baby in the middle of a rosebush? I bet that you'd be scared too!"  
  
Serenity shook her head. "I wouldn't be scared of a baby in a rosebush, Ami-chan. They weren't scared of a baby a rosebush. They were scared because there was a small infant in the middle of a thorny, prickly rosebush--a type of plant that cannot possibly exist in the north in the first place!--without a scratch on her body. They were scared because that child didn't scream or cry when pulled out--pulled out by someone whose hands and arms were shredded by the plant! They were scared because the child didn't flinch or cry or have a wound on her body. They were scared because the one mark the baby did have was a faintly glowing crescent moon. And they were scared because the rosebush that had so effectively protected the infant from harm disappeared the following day as though it had never existed in the first place! And this was all according to you! This is what you have told me! Did I misunderstand you somewhere? No?" the woman dropped her eyes to the bedsheets and began to pick at the fuzz covering its rough surface, clutching the pillow in her other arm. "Maybe they've been right. . . . Maybe I am a witch. . . . What else could have done that?"  
  
"Serenity, you can't--"  
  
"Can't what?!" Serenity cried out in exasperation. "I can't believe that even you didn't tell me until now. And you knew, Ami! You knew! How could you keep something like this from me?! I mean, it's not the end-of- the-world, but I still think that finding out the family you've always had isn't actually your blood-family is a pretty important topic to horde from the one it concerns! Why did you know?! What was wrong with telling me? Was it intentional to wait until I felt so hollow and empty inside that I would break at the slightest push?!"  
  
"Serenity, no!" Ami's eyes were filling with tears as the other woman threw the white pillow she had been clutching at the bleak, cream wall. Ami grabbed onto one of Serenity's quivering hands and held fast, forcing her friend to look at her. "No, Serenity. No. It wasn't intentional. . . . Lady Tsuniko ordered no one to tell you. . . . She wanted you to have a normal life. . .or at least have the chance at one. Most orphans end up on the streets--I know! I've seen and tended to them! Lady Tsuniko loved you as she did Columbia and Shin--"  
  
"I don't have a family. . . ," Serenity's voice was hushed and drenched in sadness. "I don't understand any of this. . . . I don't know how I'm supposed to be feeling."  
  
"How are you feeling, Serenity?" Ami ventured cautiously.  
  
"Tired, emotionally drained, exhausted," Serenity brought her crystalline eyes up to see Ami, remembering that her friend--no matter what Serenity was feeling--was probably in a worse state. "I'm sorry, Ami-chan. I-I think I might go down and see my father. I don't want to be married. Maybe he will just let me go if I. . . if I remind him that I'm not his daughter."  
  
"Sere--"  
  
"It's okay, Ami-chan. Maybe this will work out in my favour," she offered before withdrawing from the bed. Before she left the room entirely, she turned back to Ami. "Ami-chan? If-if it's not too much to ask, when is Shingo funeral pyre and ceremony?"  
  
Ami's face dropped, but she answered the question. "It will be held tomorrow evening. Your father--Lord Tsuniko wanted it to be done quickly so he could begin to. . . to make arrangements for you and Columbia. . . . I'm sorry, Serenity. I should have done something more."  
  
Serenity returned to the bed and gave her friend a hug. Ami wrapped on arm over Serenity's shoulder in acceptance of her unspoken friend's empathy. "You should sleep, Ami-chan. Take my bed, alright?"  
  
Ami nodded meekly and curled into a huddled ball on the bed, closing her aqua eyes to shut out the world. Serenity stole herself from the room and made her way down the stairs at the far end of the candle-lit hallway. Days as dark and tempestuous as these made it equally dark and depressing inside of the manor. Her face felt hot and blotchy beneath her fingers as she swiped away the remains of salty moisture.  
  
' Shingo should not have died on a day like today. . . . He always liked the sun. . . .' Serenity thought, her bare feet padding along the carpeted steps with dull, quiet thuds.  
  
The hallways were empty and silent. Serenity poked her head inside of the kitchen doorway to see if she could grab a snack before she spoke with Lord Tsuniko, but even the kitchen staff had abandoned their post. Serenity continued down the hallway, her feet wanting to run in the opposite direction.  
  
'. . .I shouldn't do this. . . . He's suffered enough for one day-- enough for one lifetime. . . .'  
  
Her feet began to slow as the thoughts continued to wrap around her mind. She had stopped infront of her father's study. Through the thick door, Serenity could hear the muffled sounds of a pen's rough scratch across the surface of paper. He would be writing to a select group of nobles, offering them his daughters--or perhaps more influentially, their dowry. He would be selling them. . .promising the nobles that they were untouched and innocent (something that Serenity could easily claim having not yet even been kissed--Columbia, on the other hand, was not the slightest bit as virtuous, on any scale!). Lord Tsuniko would be writing away to these strange men, old men, rough and arrogant men, without a thought as to their desires, hopes, wishes. . . fears. His mind would be excusing his actions; they were only women after all. Women, children, one was his own blood, one was--  
  
'A bastard child.' Serenity's mind hissed. 'I have the right to my own life. . . . I have the right to choose my path. . . . I am not his. . . . I do not belong to anyone. . . . I can bind fate to a leash, right? I can control my destiny. . . .'  
  
Her hesitation died with the final, absolute thought. Her delicate hand rested on the surface of the door and began to push it inwards.  
  
"Serenity?"  
  
The young woman leapt back from the door and turned to face the unfamiliar voice. "I-I am sorry, I do not know your name," she apologized as her eyes met the man's dark orbs. The copper-haired man dipped his head, but did not move forward to take her hand as other men had done in the past. It took Serenity a moment to register where she had seen him before. "Jedeite. . . . I do know you. I am sorry that I did not recognize you."  
  
"Think nothing of it, milady."  
  
"Oh, I am not a lady," Serenity murmured.  
  
Jedeite smiled playfully. The objection was familiar to him; he knew another person seemed to deny their nobility--though he was confused as to why Serenity would deny hers. "If you are not a lady, Serenity, than I am not a general. Now, seeing as I AM a general, I can only further deduce that you would be a lady," he paused and finally moved closer, brushing the woman's silver-blond hair from her forehead to reveal a bump. "Although who would dare harm a lady like this is entirely beyond my comprehension."  
  
Serenity blushed and covered the goose-egg-sized bump on her forehead. "Oh, I ran into a door."  
  
"A door?"  
  
"Well, yes," she was blushing even more furiously, hoping that Jedeite would not further question her. She would never live the night down as it was; the last thing she wanted was for another person to know of the situation. "I-I wasn't watching."  
  
Jedeite looked over her shoulder to see Endymion heading in their direction. He was in a heated conversation with Zoicite. Serenity followed his line of sight with her own eyes to see the two people. Her eyebrows knitted together in a glare that faded when she looked back at Jedeite. Her expression let the general know that she was quite desperate to avoid another run-in with the younger man. Jedeite bowed towards her. "I am sorry to hear of the loss of your brother, Serenity. My sympathies and support are with you in this trying time."  
  
Serenity's face fell back into a muffled sadness when Jedeite mentioned Shingo's death. She dipped her head, the graceful arc of her neck conveying an unspoken sadness. "Thank you, Jedeite. I--If you will excuse me, I need to see my father."  
  
"Oh course, milady."  
  
Serenity disappeared into the room just as Endymion and Zoicite reached Jedeite. The older general cast a wary eye towards Endymion. "She has a goose-egg on her head. You wouldn't have anything to do with that, would you Endymion? I noticed that she was wearing your shirt."  
  
"My shirt?! She's still wearing it?!" Endymion cast an angry glare towards the now-closed door leading to her father's office. "I cannot believe her!"  
  
"How did she end up with his shirt, Zoicite?" Jedeite asked the other general after he realized that Endymion would be too wrapped in his anger to reply.  
  
Zoicite raised a single blond eyebrow in amusement. "She stole it from him after she apparently 'barged' into the washing room when he was in the bath," she smirked. "I'm afraid that Endymion cannot claim to have caused the goose-egg; however, Kunzite and I will take responsibility for that. We were going to bathe and ran the door into her head."  
  
Jedeite just stood and watched Endymion as he glared--seemingly through--the door and Zoicite as she continued to smirk. Then finally, turning on his heel, he walked back to the den where he had been spending the majority of his morning.  
  
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Serenity stared at Lord Tsuniko as though he was some alien-being speaking another language.  
  
She had found the courage--probably out of the anger she felt from seeing Endymion--and tried to put an end to Lord Tsuniko's marriage plans. It was to no avail.  
  
Everything had seemed so easy and clear when she had first began speaking. She had brought up her reasons for not wishing to be wed--among them the adoption issue and her hate of the 'mere thought of enslavement'-- but it was as though her father did not hear her voice in any form. He had plowed away her arguments with angry, authoritative words that would shift to a concerned and 'this-is-for-your-own-good' tone when he felt he needed to belittle her spirit. Now Serenity sat on one of the leather chairs in front of his desk and listened bleakly to his words, letting them wash over her without impact. She wasn't sure as to how she could avoid this wedded- fate. He had made her feel as though she was a child--a child that needs to be coddled, protected, and governed--only she didn't believe it.  
  
Lord Tsuniko sat back in his chair and looked out the window. The day was dead, bleak--emotionless and colourless. "Why don't you go back upstairs, Serenity. It's been a long day for all of us, and tomorrow you must be ready to go to Shingo's pyre. You should get some rest."  
  
"I just woke up. I don't need to sleep again," Serenity muttered.  
  
Lord Tsuniko's eyes pierced Serenity's crystalline orbs. She felt like a small child as he continued. "You will go upstairs, Serenity. I will have a servant sent to retrieve you when it is supper. If you remove yourself from your quarters--quarters that I have afforded you--before you are sent for, I will see that you are lashed for your misconduct. I do not know what has come over you, but by that time I fully expect you to be over whatever it is that has disrupted your behaviour in this manner. Am I understood?"  
  
Serenity did not allow him a response. Instead, she rose from the chair and walked out of the room without a sign that she had just heard him- -no bow, no comment, no response. It would be an insult to her father, but a much-needed one, in her mind. No one was in the hallway when she closed the door to Lord Tsuniko's office, and Serenity made her way up the stairs to her room in silence. 


	12. Funeral

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Author's Note: Thanks (again) for the R&R's!!! WooHoo!!!! Um, yeah, anyway. . . . I was going to offer something to those who have become faithful readers *big, happy grin* I was just going to say that I'll be sending out e-mails now when I update (it'll save the people who check for regular updates time to check out some of the more-brilliant work online--speaking of which, for anyone who's a Harry Potter fan there's a great fic I passed over called "Not the Girl You Thought You Knew;" it's worthwhile for any fans *smiles*). Back to my previous topic, where was I? Oh yes! So if you'd like to be sent an e-mail every time "A Soldier's Fate" is updated, just leave it in the review area, or e-mail me personally. The reason I offer this is simple: I'm afraid that it may be awhile (translation: if anyone out there likes this story, you're going to want to kill me) before I get to the next chapter because of EVIL-EVIL exams. *grimaces* I will be back as soon as I can, though!! Wish me luck? Thanks!!!  
  
I don't own Sailor Moon or anything of the like, but I am masterminding a plan to change all of that! I'm thinking time-travel. . .what do you think? No? *sigh* Such pessimism. . . . ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
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Cold.  
  
Bleak.  
  
Dead.  
  
Lonely. . .  
  
. . .so lonely. . . .  
  
  
  
Serenity's eyes were dashed with unshed tears and she knelt before the giant flame; they stared--unseeing--at the funeral pyre where Shingo's body lay. The day was cold and dark, just as it was on the day Shingo died. Flocks of mourners stood around the pyre; the rotting stench of burning flesh and melting organs suffocated the once-dominate scents of lavender incense--Shingo's favorite smell ever since he met Ami and came to know the blue-haired woman's own scent. Black ghosts made of smoke rose from the burning body and dove into nearby noses, encouraging even more tears to form and fall. So many people had came to the funeral. So many people had cried with heart-felt loss. So many people. . .  
  
. . .but Serenity was still alone. . .so alone.  
  
The crowds of darkly dressed people departed gradually. Some people came late to pay their respects; they cast sympathetic glances towards the fallen silver-haired woman who knelt close to the flame, but offered her no comfort. Serenity would have been unable to accept their empathetic words or compassion-filled physical comfort. She would not have been able to handle it. She had not yet accepted Shingo's passing.  
  
Ami had fallen ill over the course of the evening. The doctor had sworn that her condition was nothing to be worried over. Serenity's eyes narrowed venomously as she recalled the doctor's 'delicate' explanation he delivered to Lord Tsuniko:  
  
"She's just suffering over a broken heart. She'll get over it. It's just something that girls do. They're like that, you know? So silly. . .completely illogical. I should speak with Lord-Commander Gizbourne about her. I believe that it's about time she settled in. That would do her all the good in the world. She shouldn't have time to make herself sick over such trivial fantasies."  
  
Serenity's bare hands clamped down on the snow in anger. Ami deserved more sympathy than what was being given to her. She deserved to be happy. Serenity relaxed her grip; Ami's father--Lord-Commander Gizbourne--would see that she was cared for properly. He had always maintained a respect for his daughter. He was proud of her. Not many women could say the same about their fathers.  
  
"And I don't even have one," Serenity muttered.  
  
Snow crunched and squeaked behind her as a group of new mourners came to pay their respects to Shingo. She pulled the hood that had fallen from her head hours ago back over her silver-blond hair. The group stopped behind her, and she felt one stoop low to the ground to her left.  
  
"Lady Serenity, you will catch a sickness if you remain on the ground. May I assist you to your feet?"  
  
Serenity continued to stare forward as though she had not registered Jedeite's voice. The general remained beside her, patiently waiting for her to respond or acknowledge him. She finally dipped her head in agreement, long strands of her hair falling out from beneath the hood. "Yes, thank you."  
  
His touch was soft and gentle against her hands despite the force his own grip could easily exert. Serenity felt like a glass doll when he helped her up--something so fragile that even the slightest jarring would upset her composure. Jedeite released her, and she stood on her own in front of the silent group, her head tilted towards the ground. The stillness was awkward, but what was there to say? Serenity took note of their boots. . . there were four sets. She exhaled a soft relief; Endymion was not there. She was not sure if she could handle his. . .well. . .his whatever-it-was- that-annoyed-her-to-no-end. Maybe it was his--presence?  
  
"Lady Serenity?" Jedeite asked softly, breaking the stilled air of the cold hills. "Would you allow me to escort you back to your estate? You must be cold. I would not forgive myself if you were to seize any illness."  
  
Serenity pulled her hood closer to her cheeks and shook her head. "I am not cold. I am fine. Thank you for your offer, general, but I wish to stay longer."  
  
Her voice was disconnected and seemed to float lightly in the air, as though the slightest wind would erase all memories of her soft-spoken yet commanding words. Zoicite nodded her understanding, unlike the three true- male generals. She tugged on Kunzite's arm and threw her head away from Serenity, motioning for them to leave. "Try not to stay outside for too long, Serenity," Zoicite advised mildly. "Jedeite will truly hold himself responsible for any sickness you might contract, and you don't want him as your bed-nurse--he's horrible."  
  
Serenity offered Zoicite a weak smile, the corners of her lips barely raising, and dipped her head. The group departed after murmuring their prayers to Shingo and wishing Serenity well. Once again, Serenity was virtually alone. The only person remaining by the flame was the monk who administered to the fire and ensured that the pyre did not spread from its designated location.  
  
Endymion watched from a safe distance as Serenity sunk to her knees again. Her sitting position did not appear to offer comfort; she sat on the ground, her knees resting on the ground out in front of her and her legs spread back towards her on either side of her body. His friends had not seen him when they departed the pyre site, and somewhere inside, Endymion was grateful that he could observe the spirited woman without the mocking disturbance of his comrades. He had left a fair distance from the funeral pyre--the smell of burning flesh would have upset the animal. A cold wind brushed past his solid form and rushed down his neck. He pulled his cloak's collar higher, and warmth returned to him after long moments of chilled silence.  
  
Endymion took the initiative to approach Serenity; perhaps she would allow him to pay his respects to Shingo without a quarrel. He chuckled to himself as the thought surfaced into his consciousness: Serenity without a fight? That would be the day. Even in the short span he had known her, he had come to correlate the woman with unpleasant situations and unbridled, limitless, endless frustration.  
  
"I am sorry for you loss."  
  
Serenity turned, her eyes already narrowed into angry slits filled with venom. She knew that voice well and had come to associate it displeasure and unstoppable, eternal annoyance. "I don't want to speak to you."  
  
Endymion could not help but rise to the bait. "I don't recall a time where I ever wished to speak to you. Yet, it seems as though we are destined to speak and fill each other's ears with inequitable, satiric teasing," he stood behind her, his eyes locked on the burning corpse; to someone passing by, it would appear as though Endymion was watching over Serenity, protecting her from harm, and guarding her as she bid her brother a restful eternity. "I am sorry, ordango-atama. I am sorry for your loss."  
  
Serenity stood up abruptly. Endymion jumped back in surprise as she turned on him. "You're sorry? You feel sorry for stupid little 'ordango-atama?' I wish that I could be half as heartless as you! At least then I wouldn't hurt as much!!!"  
  
Serenity turned away from him and began to run. He watched, too stunned to move. When his senses finally resurfaced, Endymion charged after her. He had not intended to call her 'ordango-atama;' even he knew that such a statement was entirely inappropriate considering the situation. Serenity was a fast runner--she had been so all of her life--but next to the fit and trained soldier, Serenity fell short of her escape, and Endymion caught up to her before she could disappear.  
  
"Leave me alone!"  
  
"No! Look, I didn't mean to call you that. I'm sorry. I know that you're hurting right now, and it was entirely improper of me to say that."  
  
"You don't understand hurt," Serenity scowled as she fought off another onslaught of tears.  
  
Endymion shook his head. "I don't understand your hurt, you're right. But I do understand pain, ordan--Serenity."  
  
"Please, just leave me alone," Serenity spun on her toe again and made to dart away but Endymion caught her wrist. Serenity spun around and hit his chest, unaware of the breastplate beneath his clothing. Her mouth formed a perfect 'o' as she withdrew her hand and clutched it close to her own chest. Endymion had released her hand when he first caught onto her intention to strike him. He made no move to comfort her pain, but watched her with patient blue eyes. Serenity sunk into the snow again and let frustration wash over her in torrents.  
  
Nothing worked out.  
  
Nothing ever turned out right.  
  
And now she was stuck in the snow with the world's biggest jerk who had just mauled her hand--and it WAS his fault, even if SHE was the one who had struck.  
  
Endymion's heart tugged gently, and he found himself in the kneeling in the snow in front of her. She did not fight him as he took her hand and stared at her palm. Blood marred the surface of her palm, and Endymion looked up in surprise--his breastplate could not have made such a deep gash in her palm. "I am sorry. I. . . . Had I even suspected that you could injure yourself like this on--"  
  
"It's old. It's just reopened," she murmured. "I'm fine."  
  
Endymion balled up some snow that appeared to be clean and rested in her hand. "I am still sorry."  
  
Serenity did not acknowledge his words, and Endymion wondered if she had heard him, but he did not push the matter. She sat with patience as he oversaw her wound's cleaning. His callused hands felt strange against her silky skin. Strange, but. . . . Serenity angrily pushed the word 'good' from her mind. How could she even think of betraying herself like that?! To think that she had even considered the man who embodied arrogance to be remotely human--much less sincere and sweet!!--was a thought that disgusted her. Yet, with his head down and his cold blue eyes intently governing his practiced ministrations, Endymion did seem sweet and sincerely concerned about Serenity's well-being.  
  
"There. You will have to tend to it again at home. If you don't know how, swallow your pride and ask someone for help--it looked like you already had a small infection before, and infections can easily get worse."  
  
"I'm not stupid. I know how to tend to cuts," Serenity muttered, angry that she had to acknowledge him.  
  
"Why are you so hostile?! What's your problem?!"  
  
Serenity stared at him with wide blue-crystal eyes, disbelief staining her features. "What's--MY--PROBLEM?!?! My brother's dead!! Is that not reason enough for you?! My brother's dead--he was supposed to protect me!! My father's now planning to marry me off!!"  
  
"Marry you off? I don't think that you have to worry about that--no one would take you!! Who would marry someone as ridiculous as you, ordango- atama!?!?!" Endymion vented. His heart was racing--pounding, throbbing against his ribcage. He could feel his face flush to deeper colours as the short angelic woman before him rose to challenge him. When Serenity had mentioned marriage, something inside of him tore away his self-control and revealed an incensed demon filled with misdirected protective rage.  
  
Serenity looked as though she had been slapped and could not recover her composure. "Please go. . . ," she whispered through trembling salt-kissed lips. "Just go. . . ."  
  
Endymion's stomach rocked and churned with combers of guilt-ridden nausea. Shame sliced through his mind as he gazed down on the delicate innocent form below his towering body. His hands quivered, and he slumped on the ground beside Serenity. "I'm not leaving."  
  
"Haven't you hurt me enough!?!?" she moved to stand, but Endymion grabbed her wrist again and pulled her back down. She did not have to strength to fight him, too much had happened, too much was happening. "Please go. Just let me be alone."  
  
"I'll be alone with you."  
  
Serenity felt hot tears stream down her cold cheeks. "I can't. . .take this."  
  
Endymion was not sure why he insisted on staying with her. She obviously loathed his company--and deservedly so. "You don't deserve my spite or harsh words."  
  
"And someone else does?" she snapped. "You don't care what you do around people."  
  
"You've seen me around others?"  
  
"No," Serenity confessed quietly. Her hand swiped at the tears on her cheek.  
  
Endymion reached inside of his cloak to remove his thick cotton handkerchief that had often been wound around his sword's hilt during battles to assist with the grip. It would be clean and washed. Endymion took great care of it; the handkerchief was his last and only possession from his forgotten childhood. The least he could do for Serenity was offer her something to dry her tears on.  
  
His fingers grazed the cloak's interior pocket and stopped when his fingertips brushed up against a texture so tender and supple that it sent desirably unfamiliar shivers through his body. Serenity's eyes widened when Endymion removed the foreign object from his pocket.  
  
"Endymion. . . . I don't. . .I don't understand. It-it should be dead."  
  
Endymion spun the blood-red rose by the stem between his fingertips slowly, watching the red reflect its colour against the stark white snow. "I-I didn't have a rose a few, a few moments ago."  
  
"A rose? I didn't know it's name," her wide crystalline eyes danced. "I-I saw a picture of one. . .before you nearly killed me on your horse."  
  
"I didn't--"  
  
Serenity smiled briefly, and although it was not directed towards him but at the rose, he silenced his objection. "Here," Endymion forced the rose into her smaller hand. "You can have it. I. . . I don't need a flower."  
  
Serenity laughed aloud at Endymion's attempt at masculinity. She quieted her glee and dipped her head as she closed her fingers around the smooth, thorn-less stem. Her soft lips accidentally grazed the lithe petals of the flower as she brought the rose to her frozen, pink nose and tried to inhale its sweet musk. Endymion watched, mesmerized by her every movement-- accidental and intentional. She erupted into another bout of laughter. Endymion arced a single, ebony eyebrow, and she blushed. "I can't smell it. My nose is stuffed."  
  
"You won't be able to smell it if you don't take it home soon. If you press it between two books, you can keep the rose forever--or for as long as you can care for it," he offered her a teasing smile to let her know that he had not intended his words to be cruel in any way. "Often times, the rose will keep its scent and--"  
  
"How do you know this? Aren't you a soldier?" Serenity challenged with an equally playful tone.  
  
Endymion stood up and lifted Serenity with him. She allowed his hand to pull her up without complaint, guarding the rose in her other hand. "Have you never been to the south?"  
  
"My. . .Lord Tsuniko used to go to the south, but that was before my mot. . .mother died. I have never been."  
  
"If you had, I think that you would have known about preserving flowers. It's common knowledge. I guess that I picked it up somewhere."  
  
Serenity looked up at him, and her cloak's hood fell from her face. Her twin buns caught the dim light from the hidden sun in such a way as to reflect the silver-blond highlights in her honey hair. "I'm sure that you just 'picked it up somewhere,'" she saw Endymion open his mouth to issue a retort, but she overrode his comment. "Thank you for the rose, Endymion."  
  
The soldier was not given time to respond before Serenity once again turned from him--this time gently--and walked in the direction of her horse. Her hair rolled down her back in angelic blond waves, and she seemed to glow with a radiance that the frigid cold could not contest. Her form was regal and noble. . .untouchable and innocent. Endymion started back towards his own horse in the opposite direction, the image of *his* angel immovably inscribed in his mind. 


	13. Waiting

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Author's Note: Thank you so much for everyone's limitless patience!!! I hope that this will suffice to curb appetites for the holiday season. I'll see you guys in the new year!! WooWoo!!!  
  
I tried for a longer chapter this time--do you guys like the longer chapters or the shorter chapters better? Which would you like to see in the future?  
  
This part of the story is a little more graphic RE: small, small amount of violence--just skip the part involving Beryl and Nariko on the balcony if you'd like to avoid it.  
  
Oh!! One more thing (sorry!!!): what should I write in my summary? This is important. Anyone have any ideas?  
  
I don't own Sailor Moon.  
  
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Long red hair fell in soft, wind-blown waves to the stone of the balcony's floor as Beryl looked out into the dark abyss of the night-dark forest. Summer's warm winds had cooled to welcome a speedy fall, and the air that had once smelled sweetly of fir trees and flowers now exuded a less-pleasing aroma of slowly dying petals and the rot of fallen leaves. A waning moon hung low in the sky as though clinging tenuously to the clouds that surrounded its glowing form. . . how she hated the moon. . . .how she hated its brilliant presence. . . its disruption of the sweet, ebony night. Ebony. . . . She had once known a family with dark, ebony hair--the departed royal family nonetheless. They had ruled the kingdom which Beryl had now claimed as her own (and rightfully so as the supposed cousin of the Queen Shina). Under their rule, the kingdom had flourished and prospered; their rule was personal, and the family would often visit with the people of the land to see how their decisions in government had altered the life of those it affected.  
  
They had been well-loved but nearly everyone. . .nearly everyone. . . .  
  
"But there was one who did not cherish your ministrations, Shina," Beryl's lips peeled away from her moonlit teeth.  
  
Beryl had seen that the royal family perished. The king, the queen, the would-be princess. . .everyone of the Shield's bloodline died by assassination--everyone except for Endymion. When the young boy had first managed to evade all tactical assassination attempts on his life, Beryl had thought that she would have to end his life personally; however, after sending one of her generals to observe the boy, she discovered that Endymion had suffered some form of shock-amnesia. He wandered aimlessly without memory of who or what he was, and--much to Beryl's luck--no one recognized him. Even with this stroke of luck, Beryl still thought it necessary to kill Endymion before he could become a threat. Had Nariko not forewarned Beryl of the advantages that would come with allowing the young boy to live, Endymion would not exist in the world presently; his life would have ended long ago.  
  
"My queen, you should not concern yourself over such matters. They are in the past," a whispery voice warned in a nearly satiric tone.  
  
"I told you to stay out of my mind, Nariko," Beryl hissed before turning to face the seemingly youthful soothsayer.  
  
Nariko tossed her long honey-brown hair, as her hand touched her silky strands, the colour changed from honey-brown to a deep, intense ebony. "Forgive me, my queen. I only did so for your own good. Such thoughts of the past tie us down and limit our capacity to embrace the future. You must be stronger than that. . . you must be better. You must commit yourself to the future, my queen, because soon, very soon, all that I have foretold you will come into existence."  
  
Beryl arced a thin red eyebrow at the shifty woman who stood before her. Nearly a head's length shorter than Beryl, the soothsayer seemed to impose a greater power than the fiery queen. The thought infuriated Beryl. Beryl tensed her hand and extended her spider-thin fingers towards Nariko. The soothsayer's face fell as she was thrown against the castle's exterior wall just left of the balcony, and she desperately clawed at the chance to regain her cool composure. Nariko was terrified of heights, and as Beryl let her dangle precariously--legions above the tall peaks of the fir trees so far, far below--Nariko's mind was swimming in a torrent sea of nausea and fear. And Beryl knew.  
  
"Nariko. . . ?" Beryl's voice was filled with a twisted humour refined over centuries of hate-filled waiting. The soothsayer could not find a voice to respond. "Nariko. . . I think that you and I need to have a chat, Nariko. You haven't been very obedient lately. One might even accuse you of overstepping your clearly defined restraints."  
  
"N-no. . . please. . . ," Nariko begged, her silver eyes were rolling wildly in her sockets. "P-please. . .my queen. . . ."  
  
Beryl's dark eyes narrowed as she heard the woman supplicate for her release; it was pathetic. Beryl arched a finger, and Nariko's body was slammed into the stone floor of the balcony. Beryl had not allowed for Nariko to stifle the impact, and consequently, the soothsayer's chest and ribs had been crushed against the stone. Hot, sticky liquid oozed from Nariko's gaping mouth as she eased herself from the unforgiving hard ground. Beryl snorted her disgust with the soothsayer's inability to stand up to her presentation of power; Nariko behaved as though she was untouchable but was weak to confrontation.  
  
"Nariko. . . . Nariko. . . ?"  
  
Nariko pushed her body from the ground and stood, swiping the blood that dripped from her mouth away with her purple, brushed-cotton sleeve. "Y-yes, my queen?" Nariko's voice was satisfyingly meek.  
  
"The moon, Nariko. You promised me my answer."  
  
Nariko drew out a small wooden staff from her belt and held it at arm's length, pointed towards the aforementioned glowing form in the sky. "The moon is weakening, my queen. Your time is nearly here. If you time this as I tell you, the lunarians will cease to exist, and you will not be threatened by them any longer. Without the lunarians, your reign--your very life--will be safe and remain unquestioned. Well, it will be the first step to that means, anyway. You have yet to solidify a bond with one of this planet--you cannot continue to drain Gaia's energy--but once you do, you may continue to live here. Endymion will serve you well to this means."  
  
"The moon, Nariko," Beryl's patience was once again wearing thin.  
  
Nariko began to spin her rod, a image of a dark shadow cast itself over the moon. "You must time it precisely, my queen. When the moon is at its fullest moment in the heart of winter's coldest night, you must force the eclipse with your powers. You will succeed. The lunarians are peaceful and do not believe that Gaia can touch the Moon, and visa versa. You must time it well, my queen. I will assist you if that is your desire."  
  
"Your descriptions are much too flowery, Nariko. When I ask you for an explanation, spare me your speech full of fine words; they are wasted on me and only work to fuel my temper."  
  
"Of course, my queen."  
  
Beryl gathered her deep violet skirts as Nariko stopped spinning her rod. The soothsayer slid the rod back into her belt and followed the taller woman inside the bare candlelit chamber. "What of Endymion?"  
  
"Nothing has changed, my queen. He will do as you say."  
  
Beryl considered the soothsayer's words, a smile crawled across her spidery lips. "As I say. . . . You are dismissed Nariko. Report to me should anything change. And, Nariko. . . ."  
  
"Yes, my queen?" Nariko's voice quivered with fear of her queen's next request.  
  
"Send me Hamish on your way out. He will be waiting outside of the chamber."  
  
Nariko nodded and bowed low to the floor. Her skirt-covered knees briefly brushed up against the cold floor before she rose and left the room.  
  
Beryl smoothed her thin fingers over the curve of her violet bodice. The soothsayer's whims seemed to have been temporarily calmed, but they would return. Of late, Nariko had been nearly eager to contradict or question Beryl's position--like a child testing a parent's limits. . . an especially annoying little child--one that had uses yet to fulfill. Beryl felt her skin crawl as though thin spider legs had scurried over the milky flesh of her exposed arms and had their venomous fang-like teeth knifing through the first layers of her skin; she recognized the sensation as Hamish's gaze.  
  
Beryl turned to find the sorcerer in standing aloof by the door. The powerful being was in the form of a man: his preferred cast. "Nariko seems confident that all she has foreseen will succeed."  
  
"I will not fail, my queen."  
  
Beryl raised her red eyebrows before drawing them both in a downward arc. "You are prepared then?"  
  
"Yes," the sorcerer smiled briefly before returning to his relaxed deportment. "The lunarians will not be a to threat you after the eclipse, my queen."  
  
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Some colour had returned to Ami's ivory-rose cheeks, and Serenity delighted in her friend's gradual recovery. Nearly one month had passed since Shingo's death and the blue-haired woman had only recently begun to climb out of her depressive state. She had been curled in a blanket and tucked away in the corner of her bedroom window, her body perched on the thin wooden sill. Her eyes were faded and distant, even as the twin orbs fought to focus on Serenity. The taller, blonde-haired woman sat next to Ami and pulled her into the best hug their awkward hug would allow. Together, they stared at the oak planks lining the chilled floor, silent. . . waiting. . . .  
  
". . . waiting for the sky to fall. . . ," Ami muttered before pulling the blanket closer to herself. Serenity tilted her head and offered Ami a confused gaze. The blue-haired woman smiled at Serenity and explained. "My father says that when the soldiers on the field are quiet, it seems like they're waiting--like the silence is preemptive of this great event. They--he and the other generals and commanders he served with-- would joke and say that they are waiting for the sky to fall, so that they could wake up from their nightmare and know life, and know love, again. Because the sky can't really fall, can it? If it did, you would know that you were dreaming, and then. . .then, maybe, just maybe, everything would still be okay. You know? So, maybe. . .maybe that's what I've been doing. . .waiting for the sky to fall. . . . That wouldn't be a bad thing, would it?"  
  
Serenity blinked bleakly at Ami, not entirely following her speech. She carefully considered her response before allowing words to tumble recklessly from her mouth. Serenity removed herself from the windowsill and snatched an apple from Ami's eating tray that lay on the patchwork quilt covering Ami's bed. She gently tossed Ami the red-skinned apple. "Ami-chan, I want you to consider something for me, okay?"  
  
"Okay, Serenity," Ami replied, dipping her head in encouragement and acceptance.  
  
"I want you to close your eyes and envision the single-most perfect moment in your life. . .the moment when you were happiest and safest. . .the moment when nothing could ever possibly go wrong. Now freeze that moment, freeze that feeling--that happiness. I think that you have a choice, Ami-chan. If you could live in that moment forever, be eternally happy, never know anything outside of safety, would you? If I said that all you needed to do to live in that moment forever was let go of the apple, would you? If you were to let go of the apple, you could know that happiness eternally, never die, and forever live in love. You would never hurt, feel scared or unsure, fear death or dying; you would be safe, Ami- chan, entirely safe. All you have to do is drop the apple, and you'll never have to experience what life has to offer. You will never have to know an imperfect day, a bump or bruise, a tear, a different smile, a new face. . .a broken heart. . . ," Serenity paused and sat beside Ami again, her hands resting lightly on the overhang of the white-framed sill. "If you don't want to live in that moment of pure bliss and safety, eat the apple, and experience what it has to give you. . . devour life and absorb its lessons. But you don't have to, Ami-chan. Either way, we will all accept your decision."  
  
A silence enveloped the room as the two young women sat side-by-side in quiet stillness. The red apple rested in Ami's delicate, lily hand: stationery. The floor planks were once again investigated by wandering eyes. When the moon's dim light crept across the floor which they watched with such intensity, Serenity rose and left the house, hugging Ami briefly before departing in silence. The blue-haired woman sat on the windowsill for a long time. The moon had crept over halfway across the sky's dark, diamond blanket when she finally rose, apple in hand, and rode her horse to Shingo's grave.  
  
The snow had frozen solid over both Shingo's tombstone and burial ground, and the sky had begun to cry tears of thick flurries. Ami's knees were shot with pain when she slumped onto the ice-covered earth. Her bare hands tore at the ice in near-desperation. Blood poured from her fingers. Her nails doubled over backwards as slivers of ice and frost ruptured the skin beneath her fingernails, tearing the untouched flesh from her hard talons. She was in so much pain but unable to feel the hurt. When the ice had receded into an acceptable hole, Ami sat back and looked at her mad design. A hole of crimson snow and ice rested beneath Shingo's tombstone, over his grave.  
  
"I've been waiting, Shingo. . .waiting for the sky to fall. . . . You are--were--my everything. . . . You held the sky up for me, and now I'm waiting for it to fall and crush me. . . just like you crushed me when you left me. . . . Only now, I want it to happen. I want it to stop, Shingo. I want it all to stop," Ami paused and dropped Serenity's gift into the blood-stained hole she had created. "I want the sky to fall and make me wake up from this nightmare, Shingo. . . . I want to wake up.  
  
"You told me to be strong, Shingo, and I haven't tried yet. . . . I want to try now. I'm going to go away from here, Shingo. . . . I want to find a place where I won't wait for the sky to fall and crush me. . . . I want to live. . . ," Ami reached over to his tombstone and hugged it closely as though she was hugging her soulmate one last time before a final departure. "I'm going to go and live, Shingo. I'm going to be stronger now. Please keep me safe from the sky collapsing; I know you still watch out for me. . . . I love you, Shingo. Do not forget me."  
  
Ami stood up quickly, her eyes tearing away from Shingo's place of final resting. She ran back to her horse and rode through the dark night, returning to her home. In her wake, Ami had left the blood-stained hole in the company of an apple core; she had made her decision.  
  
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Endymion slung a saddlebag over his shoulder. When Nephrite had announced that he had located a place for the group of four to reside during the winter months, the soldier had experienced a horrible lapse in emotion. Endymion not been certain as to whether he was relieved to be rid of Serenity (the two had reverted back to their unusual insults and offensive bickering the day after sharing the rose), or if he would miss her. Endymion had, of course, dismiss the latter immediately; however, the thought still resided in his unconscious mind. He took a cursory glance around the room Lord Tsuniko had afforded him before opening the door and leaving the room.  
  
Much to Endymion's surprise, Serenity was crouched by his door. He raised one of his ebony eyebrows and looked down at the small form legions below him. Serenity looked up at him slowly, her eyes rising from his boots to his blue eyes. She flushed pink and stood up, her size against him only improving mildly, and thrust a small package into his hand. Endymion balanced his saddlebag on his broad, muscular shoulder and opened the brown paper. The shirt Serenity had 'borrowed' all those nights ago during their bathroom incident lay folded and washed in the center of the package. Dried rose petals rested on the top of the white fabric. Endymion looked up and caught Serenity's crystalline eyes trying to catch some sign of his emotion or response.  
  
Endymion retied the package and dropped it onto the floor. Serenity took it as some form of rejection and began to move away from him, but (once again) Endymion grabbed her petite hand. "Thank you."  
  
Serenity stared at his hand as it enveloped hers. Awkwardness should have settled between them, and had either one thought to say something, it would have. However, Endymion and Serenity both lapsed into a content moment of quiet.  
  
Endymion gazed down upon her head of golden-silver hair. She was so small compared to him, so petite and delicate. . .like a rose. Endymion was certain that he had only been able to clutch at her thorns before, but maybe. . .maybe now he would find something else. Maybe now this embodiment of perfection would not spike him. Serenity's bangs covered parts of her eyes, and Endymion struggled valiantly to keep himself from brushing them back. . .to keep himself from touching her. There was something about the way she made him feel--angry and frustrated and happy. . .deliciously happy--that drew Endymion closer to Serenity's smaller figure. The saddlebag slipped from his shoulder and fell onto the package on the floor with a soft thud. He didn't notice. She didn't notice. Time seemed to freeze and capture all of Serenity's beauty and spirit for Endymion to behold as his strong body moved closer to her. Serenity's innocent eyes watched Endymion's chest rise and fall at a faster rate, she could feel his breath on her hair. . . in her hair.  
  
Without releasing her hand, Endymion brought his other hand to the smooth, soft skin of Serenity's face. The backs of his sword-toughened fingers lightly grazed the surface of her flesh, coaxing a flush of red to swarm her cheeks. He loved her reaction to him. Absolute innocence stood before him in the form of a wingless angel. . . complete and utter beauty in simplicity. Her eyes closed for a brief moment as his fingers continued to travel, a peaceful expression resting on her warm, dawn-tinted lips. The tips of his fingers moved down to Serenity's neck, and she gasped at being touched with such care. . .care from Endymion. He gently applied a pressure just behind her neck where her silky hair began. She did not fight him, and he easily tilted her head towards his lips. Her crystalline eyes reopened and were imploring as they searched his face for some sign of intention.  
  
"Endymion?" she sounded. . .frightened. He wanted to comfort her and take the fear from her voice. His mind faded into the distance leaving only emotion and desire. . . desire to make Serenity happy. . .to make her entirely his.  
  
But conveying this to Serenity proved more challenging than he had considered. Just when he could feel her sweet breath on his moist lips, Endymion felt a quick, acute pain scorch his groin. Doubling forward, Endymion let out a low groan and tried to comfort his injured area. Serenity's eyes were wide with surprise; she had not intended to knee his groin. She withdrew quickly, immediately regretting her irrevocable actions. In all of her life, Serenity had not known a greater desire than that which she felt when Endymion had first come close to her. . .but it had happened all wrong. No matter how much she wanted his kiss--her first kiss--she knew in her heart and mind that Endymion did not care for her, no matter what foolish crush she had developed for him.  
  
Endymion groaned again, his voice a low growl. What had he been thinking!?! This was ordango-atama! Yet that desire. . .that swell of need that had engulfed his logical mind. . . .  
  
"Endymion!" a new voice intercepted his thoughts. Serenity leapt back as though Endymion had threatened to slice her from navel to nose with his broadsword. The young woman took off down the hall as Nephrite entered from the other end. "Endymion! You're late! Can you not be on time for anything? Gizborne isn't just going to wait for us, you know!"  
  
"Take it easy on him, Nephrite," Zoicite snorted as she emerged from the corner of the hall at the opposite end. "Our dear soldier-boy was trying to pull some moves on Serenity. I think that he's got too many pent- up urges. To think that he'd try to relieve some on a near-child!"  
  
Nephrite shot Zoicite a condescending glare as she burst into fits of laughter. "You're no better than Endymion, Zoi. You're all making us late. Now lets go!"  
  
Endymion stood up as carefully as he could, quaking in anger--mostly directed towards himself, but easily targeted at Zoicite. She didn't understand. . .he barely understood himself. . . . He didn't want to.  
  
"Silence yourself, Zoicite," he finally snapped. Collecting his saddlebags and package from Serenity, he pushed past the seemingly male general and stormed down the hallway in the opposite direction of Nephrite. Zoicite took a moment longer to recover from her laughter; she had never seen Endymion screw up with a woman so many times.  
  
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	14. Frozen In Time

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Author's Note:  
  
Hello all who have waited patiently and those who have happened upon this for the first time. Here is the next installment--it is still not done, but soon! "Soon" may be awhile, though, depending on your reference and expectations. *grins* Still need something for the summary--IDEAS, PLEASE! Hope you guys enjoy this, don't forget to review.  
  
Hey!!! Hey!!! Hey!!! Any TEKKEN fans out there? Check out the story "Sleepwake." It's not finished, but it's a great work in progress! DEFINETELY one of the BEST TEKKEN FICS out there!  
  
Well, enjoy my pitiful story, and don't forget to review! That's what makes me get these chapters out there!  
  
Enjoy!  
  
  
  
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Serenity threw herself onto her bed, sobs shaking her entire body as emotions tumbled through her head. It had gone so wrong, so dreadfully wrong! She was not meant to have any feelings outside of contempt for him! When had it all gone so very, very wrong?! He was leaving today, and she was meant to be happy to finally be rid of him! But instead. . .instead she was on her bed crying over him. She had wanted him to kiss her, to hold her, to. . . .  
  
"No!" she threw a pillow up against the wall. It could have been perfect. . .so perfect--just like him. Serenity could try to deny it all that she wanted, but she did like Endymion. . .a lot. He hurled her towards levels of emotion so high that she was afraid to faint from the mere experience. But he was. . .he was Endymion Shields. Endymion Shields, a soldier and heartless man. . .right?  
  
"Right?!"  
  
Serenity muffled a scream in her pillow; a headache threatening to override her senses lingered behind her eyes. A muffled knock sounded at her door, and Serenity sat up and wiped at the tears in her eyes. Had he actually come back?  
  
A head of blue hair silenced any further hope of Endymion returning, and Serenity fell back onto the bed. "Serenity?"  
  
"I am in here, Ami-chan."  
  
Ami came immediately to her bedside when she caught sight of Serenity hugging her pillow. "Serenity, what's wrong?"  
  
Serenity peeked out from beneath her feather pillow and briefly considered telling Ami. She decided against it. "I'm just tired, Ami- chan."  
  
"I have something that might cheer you up," Ami smiled as she pulled the pillow from Serenity's face and replaced it with a brown package.  
  
"No!" Serenity cried out as she sat up and unraveled the thin twine that bound it. "No! No! No!"  
  
"Serenity?" Ami cast a baffled look at her friend.  
  
"Why does he do this to me, Ami-chan?!" she shrieked before falling back against her bed's duvet, cradling the remnants of the brown package to her chest.  
  
"Why does who do what? What are you talking about, Serenity?" Ami snatched up the note that had fallen from the package, the contents of which Ami had not seen. She began to read it aloud:  
  
"Odango-atama: please accept my apologies. I should not have done what I attempted to do. Perhaps we can once again find a peace? Or will I be waiting for the sky to fall? --Endymion"  
  
Ami sat back. "He knows about the sky. . .did you tell him?"  
  
"No," Serenity groans. "He has befriended a great many generals, though. And he knows your father. Perhaps they have conversed."  
  
Ami paused for a moment before challenging Serenity. "I think that this is a sign, Serenity."  
  
"A what?"  
  
"A sign," Ami grinned.  
  
"I'm not following you, Ami-chan."  
  
"Well," Ami began, "what was it that he attempted to do?"  
  
Serenity's eyes widened in horror. "We were talking, and I gave him back the shirt--a shirt which he returned to me!-- andwemighthavegottenalittlecloseandbeenabouttokissandwewouldhaveifihadn'tkne edhiminthegroin."  
  
"Excuse me?" Ami asked, completely lost.  
  
"He gave me another rose."  
  
"A what?"  
  
"A rose," Serenity held up the flower; it was even more beautiful than the last and in full bloom.  
  
Ami's eyes swelled. "I've never seen anything like it! It's. . .it's so amazing, Serenity," Ami suddenly became very serious. "Is he courting you?"  
  
Serenity snorted in forced loathing. "Endymion is a soldier. His definition of courting would be to take me to bed, take my virginity, and leave. . . . If I was lucky, he'd give me a pat on the back."  
  
"Serenity!"  
  
"What?!"  
  
Ami caught sight of the crazed emotion behind Serenity's eyes and simply shook her head with a smile. "Nothing. I still think it's a sign."  
  
"We're back to the sky thing?"  
  
"Of course! We never left it!" Ami cried out exasperated. "Think about it, Serenity. I just told you the story. Now he references it. . .maybe there's something more to it."  
  
"No, Ami-chan."  
  
"But, maybe--"  
  
"No, Ami-chan."  
  
They lapsed into a silence. Serenity picked at invisible tuffs of dirt on her bedsheet, and Ami simply rested her chin on a fist.  
  
"Hey, when you leave Avenroi, can I go with you?"  
  
"No--what?"  
  
Ami readjusted herself on the bed. "Well, I think that I need to leave here," she hesitated and tried to gauge Serenity's reaction before continuing, "and if your father does follow through with your marriage arrangements, I think that I'd like to accompany you--wherever you may go."  
  
Serenity's face was bleak at the mention of marriage. Her father had not brought the subject up ever since their last encounter. . . . Had he already decided her fate for her? The thought chilled her to the core of her body. Serenity slammed the thoughts out of her mind and concentrated on Ami again. "I still don't understand, Ami-chan. Why would you want to go with me?"  
  
Ami traced her finger over the bed and dropped her eye contact with Serenity. "Well. . .I just thought that it might be nice to try out life again with someone who knows me and cares about me, someone who's my friend. I-I ate the apple, Serenity. I do want to. . .continue with life's experiences."  
  
"I thought you would," Serenity confided lightly. "What does your father think, though? I always presumed that he would have you stay with him. He depends upon your assistance rather heavily, don't you think?"  
  
"I think he would understand," Ami chimed, some cheer returning to her airy voice. "And I would then have a safety-net, of sorts. I would always have someone there to push me forward. Besides, I couldn't simply abide and lose you!"  
  
Serenity came closer to Ami and rested her blonde-silver head on the other woman's shoulder. "Are you sure, Ami-chan?"  
  
"Of course I'm sure!" Ami clucked. "I've had some time to think about this. And I think that this is the right decision for me to make."  
  
"I won't be leaving for awhile, Ami-chan."  
  
"Sooner than you think, though, Serenity," Ami's tone was sad, regretful.  
  
Serenity removed her head from Ami's shoulder and pulled her long, cream legs to her chest, the thick skirts of her dress trying to push her legs back onto the floor. "I know."  
  
Ami cringed at her friend's hushed tone; Serenity sounded defeated. "Um, Serenity? Would you come with me to inform my father of my decision? It would do your spirit good to get out of your house."  
  
"And go to a tavern? I presume that is where your father is?"  
  
"But of course, Serenity," Ami laughed with delight; she and Serenity had often sought out her father in the taverns when they were younger. "Where else would he find such a hospitable a reception?"  
  
Serenity did not join the blue-haired woman's laughter, but tipped her head to signify that she would accompany Ami to the tavern. She needed to get Endymion off of her mind, anyway.  
  
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"At every bloody tavern, Endymion!" Jedeite snapped as a third serving woman slide onto Endymion's lap and whispered deviating promises into his ear. She left as the women before her had--with a look of crushed rejection painfully etched into every crease of her dusted cheeks and in the corners of her slowly watering eyes. Endymion turned them down easily, without heed to the sting of his words.  
  
"This is a regular occurrence?" Gizbourne, Ami's father and the commander of the northern army, asked, his voice seeping with amusement.  
  
"Far too regular," a male-Zoicite intoned bleakly. "Although he normally does not refrain from taking them as he has tonight."  
  
"Got something on your mind do you?" Gizbourne muttered over a thick mug of bitter ale.  
  
Zoicite could not help but intervene in the conversation again. "A certain child, actually."  
  
"Child?!" Gizbourne was clearly disturbed by the prospect.  
  
"She is not a child! She is sixteen!" Endymion snapped angrily. "And she has nothing to do with my present disposition. You, on the other hand, Zoicite, may not be so clear of the charge."  
  
Gizbourne stroked the tips of his graying mustache. "Sixteen? I have a daughter who is that age. I know that she's smart enough not to fall for you, though. Why not take a wench for yourself? Whatever is disturbing you now will surely be irrelevant once they start to work their charms on you."  
  
Jedeite raised cast a warning glance at Endymion and found that it was received. "I would recommend against such behavior, if you will pardon my intervention."  
  
"Why do you say that?" Nephrite droned between mouthfuls of steaming chicken.  
  
Kunzite slammed a fist into Nephrite's knee beneath the table, and the chicken that Nephrite had happily been munching on lodged itself in his throat. While Nephrite choked, Kunzite calmly picked up where Jedeite had left off. "We have other things to do that do not involve the serving women, Endymion. I think that it would be wise to finish our business here and--"  
  
"Kei! Kei! Come over here!" Gizbourne's voice rang out over the bustling tavern, a sonorous boom that made all other conversation a murmur in comparison.  
  
Endymion watched with disinterest as a slender woman with long, blonde hair and large dark blue eyes sauntered over to the table. She stopped beside Gizbourne and placed a blood-flushed hand on her hip. She ran the tip of her tongue over her lip as she looked down upon the aged commander. "You called me, Gizbourne?"  
  
"Not for myself, I'm most regretful to say, Kei," Gizbourne's voice had softened considerably. "Take care of my soldier for me. His name's Endymion, and you don't have to go gently on him."  
  
Kei made a soft, forged moan before straddling Endymion's lap and pulling him out of his seat. Endymion considered pushing her away, but hesitated. Kei's hair was nearly as long as Serenity's, although it lacked the same shimmer and blonde-silver highlights, and her eyes were darker, but still blue. Her hands--as they wrapped around the bare skin on his neck and traced the line where his dark, ebony hair began to grow--were kind of like Serenity's. . .maybe. . .maybe, just a little. . . ?  
  
Endymion's decision to push Kei away from his solidified when the thoughts and comparisons between Kei and Serenity would not cease; Serenity was far superior to Kei, and even if she would never be his, he could not be with another woman until he had, at least, cleared his mind. Kei, however, had different ideas. She had sensed Endymion's hesitation and resolved to remove it entirely. Forcing her mouth over his soft lips, Kei dragged him into a booth at the back of the tavern. . .and never gave the dark-haired prince a chance to object.  
  
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The tavern was the only building whose lights remained on by the time Ami and Serenity rode into the town. Serenity had failed to inform Lord Tsuniko of her trip with Ami, and she fully expected a lecture--if not lashings--upon her return. For now, however, her concern was a distant cry, and she turned all of her energy to avoiding the groping hands and suggestive calls that flooded close to both Ami and Serenity as they searched the tavern for Gizbourne. Most of the male portion of town had slithered into the warm building, and the air was rich with the stench of their sweat and 'poison.' Serenity had always felt awkward and self- conscious in the presence of people--especially these people--and the new looks she received did nothing to dissuade her fear and apprehension.  
  
"Father!" Ami called out over the crowds, her voice lost amongst the strong, baritone voices, but her eager wave seen.  
  
"Ami! What are you doing here?! How many times do I have to tell you not to come in here?!" Gizbourne shouted back, his reception was warm, despite his scolding words. He motioned for both Ami and Serenity to come forward. The two young woman shimmied through the constantly moving crowd and came to stand next to the table. Serenity bowed to Gizbourne and the others at the table before recognizing Gizbourne's table guests.  
  
Jedeite's face was the only one to drop at the sight of Serenity. Even if Endymion did not admit his feelings for her, he knew that something was between the two seeming rivals. He caught Kunzite's eyes and realized that he was not alone in his thought. Serenity greeted them with her brilliant smile and glowing eyes, completely oblivious to the two entangled bodies to the back of the tavern.  
  
"I did not expect to see you so soon after your departure, generals," Serenity bowed again, her hands clasped lightly infront of her out of respect for them. "It is a pleasure to be in your company again. . . . Endymion is not with you?"  
  
Zoicite jumped to be the first to speak, her intentions towards Serenity good; she did enjoy what she saw of Serenity and had no wish to hurt her. "He is busy at the moment. What brings you to the tavern? For what you have said to Endymion before, you think very little of the place."  
  
"Oh, that was my doing. Father, could I speak with you?"  
  
Gizbourne grunted before he downed the rest of the ale and nodded for Ami to continue. The blue-haired woman crouched low so she would be heard without others eavesdropping. Serenity scuffed her feet and began to look around the tavern. Jedeite quickly put a stop to her wandering eyes and drew her attention to himself.  
  
"Would you like anything to drink? They have some non-alcoholic drinks. Nephrite is having an apple cider, actually. He isn't one for poison."  
  
Nephrite snorted. "And you blame me?"  
  
"No, of course not," Jedeite said before turning back to Serenity.  
  
She shook her head roughly, one of her hair's tails falling over her shoulder. "No, but thank you for offering. I do not think that Ami and I will be staying for so long as to enjoy a drink of anything."  
  
MEANWHILE. . . .  
  
Endymion pushed Kei into his body, forcing her to push harder into him as he moved beneath her. She straddled his lap, her face hidden beneath her long blonde hair. Endymion could almost trick himself into believing that he could be fooled into thinking that Kei was Serenity. However, whenever her rough, straw-strands brushed up against his skin, or she muttered or moaned, he knew that he could not even consider her as Serenity--in any form. But he tried. He tried to make her Serenity. He tried to enjoy what she was doing to him. . .for him.  
  
Even her lips were jagged and chapped from the innumerable other men she had given herself to. Her tongue was thick and sloppy as it worked its way around his own soft mouth, and her body presented unnaturally lumps were others had been too harsh with her.  
  
She was not Serenity.  
  
She could never be Serenity.  
  
And he could never have Serenity.  
  
So it made sense that Kei and Endymion have these few moments where both of them--in their differing states of rejection--could experience some form of pleasure, even if it was together.  
  
Right?  
  
Endymion's cold, blue eyes clenched tightly against Kei's tempting rhythm as she mashed her body against his. He felt himself push her away. Kei let him; she thought that he had a want for a new position. When she saw Endymion's eyes, however, she knew differently. Endymion swiped his ebony hair from his face and with a withering glance, dismissed Kei. The woman left Endymion alone, not wanting a fight or dispute in any form, and went to Gizbourne to receive her pay. Endymion's ice eyes followed Kei's movements as he buttoned his shirt. His fingers froze midway and refused to restart or finish.  
  
Serenity's angelic, crystalline eyes stared at him in a crushed confusion. Endymion's heart felt like it would rupture beneath the agonizing anguish and contrition that now weighed upon it heavily. How long had she been watching him? How long had she been standing amongst the crowds in the tavern watching him with Kei? Endymion's entire world felt as though it would combust and fade into a indiscernible black mass that could not actually exist in the pain and suffering of his devastated emotions.  
  
Endymion stood, and Serenity took a step backwards. Her quick withdraw attracted the attention of the generals and Gizbourne. Time seemed to freeze between the moment when Zoicite cursed beneath her breath and the moment when Serenity turned from Endymion and ran from the tavern. In that frozen moment in time, only the two of them existed. Endymion's tall form. . .his dark, enraptured, blue-eyed gaze nearly hidden by his dark ebony hair stole into Serenity's innocent heart and twisted her sweet soul into a form of unrecognizable torment without the intention of harming her. But how could it not? How could he not hurt her after what she had witnessed?  
  
Endymion soaked up her innocent, angelic form in that frozen moment and realized that the extent to which he harmed her by his actions. But it made no sense. When--in the short time that they had been 'forced' into each other's presence--had he suddenly been given control over so much of Serenity's emotional well-being; when had he come to dominate her heart in such a way as to now hold sway over her spirit and soul?  
  
And when did his heart decide to betray him and give its entire self to her?? It all seemed to happen without his acceptance or knowledge. Now he was helpless to watch her anguished cerulean eyes reflect the pain he had ignorantly inflicted on her.  
  
In that one moment, the suffocating guilt was unbearable. Endymion wanted nothing more than to betray his instincts that still insisted that he continue to ignore the saddened angel and comfort her. . .hold her. . .protect her. . .  
  
. . .kiss the tears that had frozen in her inculpable eyes from her rose- milk cheeks when the moment ended and they finally fell.  
  
He reached out to her, in that moment, and touched her, although neither one had physically moved. Something inside of him clicked and flooded with a joy so great tears rushed to his warming blue eyes. Serenity felt the bond establish itself inside of her as well; however, she could not share his joy. Slamming the bond into the deepest interludes of her mind, Serenity released herself from the frozen moment and ran.  
  
Stunned at having been slammed out by Serenity so efficiently, Endymion took a moment to recover before he moved to charge after her. A thick grip slammed him in the stomach just as the muscular soldier was charging past Gizbourne's table. He collapsed on the ground, breath strained in his lungs.  
  
"Leave her alone, Endymion," Jedeite growled dangerously. The general's eyes were alight with near-anger and definite authority. Endymion struggled to stand up and continue pursuing Serenity, but a strong fist slammed into his back, forcing him back to the floor. The strike was unquestionably Zoicite's, only she would be as careless and forceful with her blows.  
  
"Don't, Endymion," Zoicite said. "She deserves better than you. Let her go. It is better that she learnt this way."  
  
  
  
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Serenity fell upon the snow outside and fought back the sobs that racked her body. Her delicate, lily hands tore at her cloak, seeking out its internal pocket. She withdrew the rose that Endymion had given her and began to tear it into small shreds of rapidly withering greenery. Punching the dying rose into the unforgiving snow, she ripped the dried petals from the same pocket and slammed them into a similar grave. The cut on her hand had reopened again, but for once, Serenity paid it no heed. She dashed towards her horse and shortly after took off for Avenroi, entrusting her horse to guide her way for tears clouded any hope of legible vision.  
  
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THREE WEEKS LATER:  
  
  
  
Three weeks passed before Serenity was forced into another social gathering where she saw people not of the Avenroi household. Endymion had made no attempt to contact her--for which she was grateful. Ever since the evening in the tavern, Serenity had felt strangely connected to him, a sensation she would nearly kill to relieve herself of. Her father summoned her out of the library one afternoon when the first signs of the fast approaching winter had begun to show. Serenity was tired and worn-out--emotionally exhausted from her last experience with Endymion--so when she was introduced to her father's guests, she took it harder than she normally would have.  
  
Lord Tsuniko sat next to two men of similar age and build. When Serenity entered the room, she found that Columbia was already happily chattering away at the two gentlemen. Her father raised a graying eyebrow and motioned towards the men beside him. "My lords, this is my other daughter, Serenity Tsuniko of Avenroi. Serenity, this is Lord Liu Chai and Lord Toshio Yiio. They have both traveled a great distance in hopes of finding a wife in either you or Columbia."  
  
Serenity's world began to tilt and dance at strange and crazy angles. She thought she heard her father say something that sounded like ". . .future husband. . ." but over the whirl and screams in her mind, she could not be sure. She was certain, however, that Columbia squealed a moment before Serenity crumpled to the hard floor.  
  
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	15. Pained Angel

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Author's Note: I'm SO SORRY that this took SOOO LONG!!! I *really* appreciate all of you who have continued to read this! I hope it's to your liking!!! This one is for KELLY BEAN because the review I got was what really kicked me into gear--I can completely relate!! I just never made the connection that someone might want to read mine and feel the same way I do about other peoples' fics. It's really flattering! So, from now on, readers *should* be getting LONGER chapters that *should* come out at a faster rate!  
  
*Oh god! What am I setting myself up for?!?!?*  
  
Not a lawsuit--that's for sure! I don't own Sailor Moon or anything of the like as I am no where near talented enough or creative enough. . . but I can dream, right?  
  
Onto the story!  
  
Enjoy!  
  
REVIEW!!  
  
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Columbia had practically splayed herself across Lord Lui Chai's lap, her eyes all-absorbing wide saucers. Serenity sat with a stiff back against a tall brown velvet chair that was positioned beside the fireplace in the Avenroi living room. She had managed to avoid the two nobles for the better part of two weeks, claiming to be too weak from her fainting episode (her father explained the situation as too much excitement for her to handle--poor little girl!) Lord Toshio Yiio had been discussing the finer aspects of sporting using a traditional bow with Serenity before she expressed her dislike of anything related to the killing of animals. He had prompted silenced his boasts.  
  
". . . Isn't that right, Serenity?"  
  
The golden-haired angel lifted her head in confusion. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"  
  
"That they would be more than welcome to go! Oh! Lord Chai! It would be fabulous fun!"  
  
Serenity arced a slender eyebrow, and Columbia gave her a look of disbelief. "Don't you listen to anything I say?" Columbia waited for Serenity to say something but continued after realizing her sister would not give her a response. "The Snowball."  
  
"The Snow Ball?" Lord Chai grinned; his mouth full of yellow teeth.  
  
Columbia burst out in veracious laughter. "No! The Snowball! It was once a festival that we had here, but now it's just a costume ball. . . but it's so much fun! You simply must come!"  
  
"That would depend on when it is happening. We have to return to our own estates, milady," Lord Lui Chai chortled at Columbia's enthusiasm.  
  
"Oh! It's just in a few weeks! The night of the eclipse, actually," she shrugged, dismissing the novelty. "But it'll be extra special with you there, Lord Chai! You too, Lord Yiio! Oh, say you'll go! The seamstress in town will be able to design you both masks! Oh! Say you'll go!"  
  
Serenity stood up abruptly and smoothed over the front of her skirt. "Excuse me, my lords, Columbia, but I have some things I need to attend to."  
  
Lord Toshio Yiio stood and offered Serenity a sweeping bow. "You will be attending the Snowball, sweet lady?"  
  
"Of course she is!" Columbia interjected before Serenity could make some excuse for her absence. "Everyone goes to it! Serenity no exception. She's even decided on her costume!"  
  
"Really? Sweet lady, do tell me what you plan on going as so that my costume will be a complement, not an insult, to yours," Lord Yiio gushed with an ominous smile. He swiped a handful of loose gray hair from his eyes and waited expectantly.  
  
"I-I don't--" Serenity stumbled.  
  
"She wants it to be a surprise, but I'm not as secretive as she tends to be," Columbia snorted before she reached out and touched Lord Chai's arm suggestively. "I am going to be a white cat. Just wait until you see my gown, Lord Chai! It matches my mask and tail perfectly!"  
  
Lord Chai continued to listen to Columbia with good-humour, amused by her energy. Serenity turned to leave the room, but Lord Chai caught her arm, just above her elbow. "Sweet lady, please," he said, "give me but a colour to wear in honour of you."  
  
"I-I am sorry my lord," she said as she detached herself. "I cannot."  
  
Lord Yiio considered her refusal for only a moment, and then his horrible, leering smile returned. "I admire a woman who can stick to her morals, sweet lady. I will wear black because it upsets no other colour."  
  
Serenity merely dipped her head in acknowledgement and left the room. The halls were emptied of occupants, the majority of hired help would tend the kitchen at this time. She was grateful for the relative peace. Even while she was bedridden following the fainting incident, Serenity had not been left alone. The doctor had been sent for, and Ami had been sent in his place. Lord Tsuniko had stormed about the small bedroom, snapping at Ami for her assessments of Serenity. In the end, Ami had won out over the angered lord, and Serenity was told to stay in bed for the remainder of the week. When Lord Tsuniko had left to explain to his guests Serenity's absence, Ami had confessed that there was nothing wrong with Serenity, that Serenity had just been overwhelmed and that shock had temporarily shut down her body's normal functioning system.  
  
Serenity paused by the stairs, one of her rose-lily hands resting on the banister, her head facing downward. Ami had asked about Endymion when Lord Tsuniko had left, asked if Serenity had heard anything about him. She could not hide her hurt from her friend; she could not hide her feelings toward Endymion. . .for Endymion. She did not understand how she felt, herself, and explaining the confusing emotions to Ami proved a most tiresome and impossible task. Serenity tried to justify her reaction-- saying that what she had seen had been offensive to her--but Ami wouldn't buy into any of her excuses. Eventually, Ami let the issue slide, but only after she had told Serenity that Gizbourne, Ami's father, had decided to allow all of the soldiers in the area attend the Snowball. It was then that Serenity had sword that she would not go.  
  
Lord Yiio would hopefully understand if she suddenly came down with a migraine headache the night of the festival, and not pursue or question the matter further. How could she bare to see Endymion again? Away from his presence she had nearly succeeded in convincing herself that she had never felt anything for him. If she was forced to see him again. . . .  
  
Serenity started up the stairs.  
  
"Serenity!"  
  
She turned to find Lord Tsuniko watching her from down the hall by the den. "Yes, father?"  
  
He moved forward at a casual pace, asserting himself as the dominate figure as Serenity waited patiently for him to speak. He thrust a small envelope into her hand and pinched her wrist between his thick thumb and forefinger. "You will find something to wear to the festival, and it will be something nice, Serenity. Make it match something black--white maybe. Am I understood?"  
  
Serenity flinched as the force exerted on he wrist increased. "Yes."  
  
He brought his face close to hers and narrowed his eyes. As a child, Serenity would be given the same treatment, and at one point, the loathsome glare would have instilled a great fear inside of her mind. He dropped her wrist and snatched the envelope away. "Stay there."  
  
Serenity did not move. Lord Tsuniko disappeared into his study and did not reemerge for long moments. Serenity massaged her wrist and waited. When Lord Tsuniko reappeared, the envelope had gotten thicker and was sealed with wax and imprinted with Avenroi's sigil. He returned the envelope to her. "Give this to the seamstress. I don't trust you enough to pick out your own costume. You will leave now, while they are distracted by Columbia's nonsense. At least you had brains enough to say that you had things to do. Your nonattendance will be unquestioned now."  
  
Lord Tsuniko turned and left Serenity with the envelope in hand.  
  
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Warm air, strong with the smell of apples and fresh bread, rushed to meet Serenity as she let herself into the grocery store on Auel Street. The grocer, Simon Ce, raised a hand in greeting, and Serenity dipped her head in acknowledgement. Simon Ce was a nice man, friendly and smart, but very outspoken and blunt. His wife was Taka Ce, the town's seamstress who operated in a smaller room at the back of the store, and was equally candid. Serenity remembered many times throughout her life when at least one of the two had made her feel utterly awkward or incompetent. Between the two of them, Serenity had learnt that she was too skinny, her legs too scrawny, her breasts too small, her bottom too flat, among many other physical flaws. They were well-meaning and thought that Serenity should keep her downfalls in mind so that she could play up what she did have (the one item of which was her large, innocent eyes, according to the couple).  
  
"Coming to get your dress for the festival, are you?" Simon asked from over the counter as soon as he had plotted out her destination.  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
A bemused smile played on his lips. "And just what did you want to go as this year? A peacock again? The feathers did cover up your forehead nicely, didn't make it seem too broad. I think that that costume would be a wise choice."  
  
"Thank you for your suggestion," Serenity cringed before reaching the relative safety of the seamstress' door. She twisted the gold-coloured knob and pushed against the glass panes of the door. A bell positioned above the door rang to announce her arrival. Inside of the seamstress' shop, the air smelt of must and mango--an unpleasant combination of which Taka never took notice. The seamstress was crouched over a small brown counter, her fingers threading pink and blue feathers through a mesh mask. She did not raise her head when Serenity entered, but grunted her acknowledgement of Serenity's presence. Serenity stood close to the door, as though guarding her escape, and waited for the woman to finish.  
  
The seamstress looked up and pulled the thick-rimmed glasses from her nose. "Ah, Serenity, I was beginning to wonder about when you'd be coming in. You're normally in with Columbia, and she came to see me weeks ago. You've left this a little late, don't you think? The festival is only in a little less than two weeks. I won't be able to make you a dress now, you'll have to look through the ready-made ones. They're hanging on the rack that spans the back wall over there. Go take a look."  
  
"My father asked me to give this to you, Taka," Serenity said. She handed the older woman the sealed envelope.  
  
"Sealed? I hope that he doesn't expect to pay me later. I don't do courtesies," Taka said. Her aging fingers slid along the seal and peeled it away from the paper, opening the envelope. A large sum of money fell onto her lap bound together with simple twine. Taka's watery gray eyes ballooned, and she quickly read the letter.  
  
Serenity delayed in going to the back of the store after having seen the vast amount of money now in Taka's possession. Taka looked up from the letter and smirked at Serenity. "Forget about those dresses, Serenity. I have the perfect one for you in my workshop area. I keep a few special dresses for occasions like this. Excuse me while I go and get it."  
  
Serenity watched Taka scamper off to the small room behind the counter, money in hand. The letter had been left discarded beside the desk. Curiousity scratched at Serenity's mind; she leaned over the ledge to see what Lord Tsuniko had written.  
  
"Here you are!" Taka called out cheerfully as she reentered the shop. Serenity recoiled in embarrassment, but the seamstress did not seem to have noticed what she had tried to do. "Go into one of the change rooms and be quick. I'll need to get full measure of what adjustments need to be done."  
  
A pile of white was thrust into Serenity's unprepared arms and forceful pushes from Taka guided her, stumbling, to the change room. The seamstress proved entirely impatient, and Serenity had no time to actually look at the dress before throwing it on. The hem of the dress was long on her, but the bodice fit snuggly. Taka practically pulled Serenity from the curtained enclosure and tossed her onto the small stool in the center of three large mirrors. Serenity went pink with embarrassment when she saw the innumerable views of the dress on her body.  
  
Two thin white straps wrapped around her neck and met each other in the back, leaving her shoulder-blades and back bare and exposed until about two- thirds of the way down. The front of the white gown clung to her chest and stomach. The glittering fabric created a smooth border just above the swell of her breasts that dipped to make a low border on her back. Fanning out beneath the bodice, bright white folds in the gown's skirt revealed tiny sparkles that only caught the light at very particular angles. A small train flowed out from the back of the eye-catching gown and was just long enough to attract attention but avoid being stepped on.  
  
Taka set to work immediately. She pushed at Serenity's waist to begin with, muttering the differing size adjustments and numbers. She wielded the measuring tape like a trained swordsmen, whipping it out to poke and prod at Serenity only to sheathe it again when it became unnecessary. Serenity could only stare into the mirrors in astonishment; she had never looked like this before.  
  
". . .feather mask."  
  
"I'm sorry, Taka. What did you say?" Serenity asked as she fumbled out of her trance.  
  
"A white feather mask, Serenity; you could be an angel. That should get your lord palpitating and catch the attention of something else."  
  
Serenity's eyes bulged in both horror and disbelief. "W-what?"  
  
Taka cast her a disapproving stare before she left Serenity to stand alone on the stool. Serenity's hands clutched at the flowing gown nervously; she felt as though she had no right to wear such a gown. Taka's snide comment regarding Lord Yiio had driven that feeling even deeper into her mind.  
  
"Here you go, try it on. I think it'll play down your nose; it's a bit big, don't you think?"  
  
Serenity took the mask and ignored the comment. She slipped it over her head, the white feathers tickling her cheeks. She looked in the mirrors again; she could barely recognize herself. Her right hand fluttered to the mask. The bell above the door rang and admitted another patron. Serenity suppressed the urge to run in abashment.  
  
"Oh! Hello, general!" Taka beamed as a mahogany-haired general entered the small room. "I have your orders ready; it's just in the back. I'll go grab it for you now. You caught me at a good time. I was just about to resume my measurements. Excuse me for a moment, and I'll be right back."  
  
Taka left the room, and the general turned to face Serenity. "That is a beautiful dress, milady. I do not believe that we have met. My name is Jedeite."  
  
Serenity tiptoed around on the stool and stared at the general. Her eyes seemed even more blue from beneath the mask, and Jedeite found himself hypnotized by the expression of bright curiousity. In one fluid movement, Serenity removed the mask and held it by her hip. Her face was sad but did hold some affection for the general. "You've forgotten me already?"  
  
"Serenity!" Jedeite's face dove to a deep shade of crimson. "Serenity, I did not recognize you with that--you look even more beautiful, like an angel. Please forgive me for not recognizing you. . .and for my bluntness; I am not myself. You--you are attending this Snowball?"  
  
Serenity broke her gaze with the general, her eyes on the worn carpet floor. "I am. You. . .and the others. . .are going to be there?"  
  
Jedeite understood where she was going with her question, but gave her the privacy she seemed to want. "We will."  
  
Serenity nodded and turned back to the mirrors, her head still down. "Jedeite?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Jedeite, will. . .will Endymion be there?"  
  
Jedeite suppressed a cringe and nodded. "Yes."  
  
Serenity's head dropped further. Jedeite watched as she slipped the mask over her eyes. The white feathers could not hide the watery hurt. Jedeite could not understand why or how Endymion impacted her at all. He saw the same thing in Endymion, though.  
  
He knew from the moment Endymion had struggled to stand after receiving the general's harsh blow to the stomach, and his lack of acceptance to forget Serenity, that the soldier housed something for Serenity. Endymion had tried to find excuses to go and see Serenity over the past two weeks, and it was only through Nephrite's careful watch that none of the plans had been carried out. They had all been legitimate and entirely plausible, but none of the generals wanted Endymion to go; Serenity was not for him. Endymion had never been serious about anyone, and they believed that Serenity would be no different. For Endymion, Serenity was just a challenge; he had already played the golden-haired angel's heart enough for the general's liking.  
  
"Here you are, general," Taka said. "Will you need assistance with them?"  
  
"No, thank you. This has been most convenient, Taka," Jedeite said as he took the bundles from Taka's arms. He turned to Serenity one last time. "Take care, Serenity. I look forward to seeing you there. Perhaps you would consider granting me a dance?"  
  
Serenity did not answer the general. Instead, she continued to look into the mirrors, all of her insecurities coming back even stronger than before. Somewhere behind her, a bell rang and the general departed.  
  
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Lord Tsuniko swallowed the hot jasmine tea and savoured the rich flavour the western leaves left in the hot water. Lord Toshio Yiio and Lord Liu Chai sat in opposing chairs, enjoying their own tea. The sky had thrown night's dark cloak over its shoulders hours before, and much of the Avenroi household had long since retired. The three men--the three nobles-- sat and drank their tea; the conversation between them had ended and deals had been made. They had agreed to leave judgement on Serenity until after Snowball; Lord Yiio had not appreciated the young woman's blunt slights. Columbia's fate, however, had been bargained, dealt, and done. She would leave with Lord Chai the day following Snowball. Lord Tsuniko could now only hold his breath and hope that Serenity impressed the other lord at Snowball. If she did, her fate would be as sealed as Columbia's by the next morning, and Lord Tsuniko would have relieved himself of both unwanted burdens.  
  
  
  
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"You shouldn't complain, Endymion," Zoicite quipped as she drummed her fingers along the kitchen table's wooden top . "Even I have to wear a tux, and I am a woman!"  
  
Endymion eyed the currently-male Zoicite from his seat. He seethed with rage, although he could not justify why. "Hard to believe, even without your pendant on. You're as attractive a sexless, blood-soaked youma--and that's on your good days. You'll never be a real woman. Even male prostitutes have better feminine attraction than you."  
  
Zoicite's eyes became slender slits, and she unconsciously grabbed the sex-changing charm that hung about her neck. The soldier's treatment of the generals had degraded severely since the incident in the tavern. He was much more harsh. . .cruel. Zoicite forced his words from her mind in anger. She snickered at Endymion, her dismissive nature replaced by a more incisive temper. "Like you would know what a real woman felt like, Endymion. You've only ever had tavern whores and high-born harlots. That's all you'll ever get. That's all you're good for, Endymion: banging up whores who have to be paid to bed with you. Serenity must be sending out devotions of thanks to us before she crawls into her bed at night!"  
  
Endymion snatched Zoicite's hair and slammed the general into the closest wall, the chair fell to the floor with a loud clap. "That's not true!"  
  
Zoicite parried low, one of her three blows rebounding off Endymion's hip. He paid her next to no notice and slammed a fist into her stomach. Zoicite crumpled to the ground. Endymion continued to beat on her back; the general fought back with rage. Equal blows were exchanged in the quarrel, gentler than full-strength, but still intended to hurt and harm. Kunzite, who had been napping in the bedroom beside the small kitchen, pulled himself from the sleeping quarters and tried to focus on the scene before him. When his conscious awareness returned to him, he immediately leapt into the fray. Endymion found himself flung against the far wall; the impact's quiver roused Nephrite from his book in the den.  
  
"What are you bloody idiots doing in here!" he bellowed. Endymion did not answer; Kunzite and Zoicite were much too involved in each other to even respond. "What happened?!"  
  
"The soldier took it upon himself to attack me," Zoicite said.  
  
"Somehow, Zoicite, I doubt that that was the case," Jedeite muttered as he entered the house. He dropped the costumes on the kitchen table and proceeded to remove his boots. "As intolerant as Endymion has been recently, I do not believe that he is so far gone as to attack you without some catalyst at play. Perhaps you would like to explain yourself, Endymion?"  
  
"There is nothing to explain."  
  
Jedeite groaned. "I am asking you first so that you may have a fair say before Zoicite."  
  
"We fought. There is nothing else to it."  
  
"Endymion, I know that you have been thinking that things are not ideal for you right now, but you have to handle yourself better than this. Not only is Zoicite your militant superior, she is your friend, and she deserves better than--"  
  
"Why does everyone deserve better than me?" Endymion whispered. "Why does she deserve better than me?"  
  
"She doesn't deserve better than you, Endymion. Zoicite just needs to be respected a little--"  
  
"I'm not talking about Zoicite!"  
  
Jedeite could not suppress a cringe. "Who. . .who are you talking about, Endymion?"  
  
Endymion ripped his hand through his hair, brushing it away from his ice blue eyes. Jedeite cringed yet again upon seeing the pain and hurt the twin orbs professed. The soldier had truly given something to Serenity. . . . Endymion's eyes alone avowed his affection for the young woman. . .revealed that there was more to his persistence than a simple conquest of the golden-haired angel. "You know who I'm talking about, Jedeite," Endymion's voice was husky and strained. . .so much pain. "She's inside of my mind. . . . I keep thinking that I can feel her. . .feel where she is, how she's feeling. . . . I feel connected to her, and you cannot deny me that! Why, Jedeite? Why does she deserve better than me?"  
  
Jedeite could only stare in shock and disbelief. The other generals were no better off. Endymion had just displayed more emotions in the past few moments than they could recall throughout his entire lifetime. Yet, even with the soldier's deep disclosure, they could not grant him what he sought. They could not tell him that Serenity deserved him, or would be good with him. Endymion dropped his beautiful, sorrowful eyes to the ground, having had found no support within those who he held closest. The room fell silent. Quietly, one by one, the occupants left, and the kitchen was empty.  
  
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Well, that IS all for now. . . . There will be more as outlined in my "Author's Note." And that "more" will involve Snowball, and Endymion and Serenity, and, well, Beryl, and ENDYMION AND SERENITY. . . . But, yeah, please don't be disappointed, because it's really not going to be anything spectacular due to writing talent limitations! But, hey! I'LL DO MY BEST! AND IT'LL BE OUT SOONER THAN THIS ONE WAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 


	16. The Snowball Effect

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Author's Note: Sorry that this is late!! My laptop crashed and would not boot up! It's thanks to Peter-the-Computer-Fixer-Guy that this is up and restored and nothing is missing!! I hope you all enjoy!!  
  
  
  
Be warned: this may loose some of you as I've taken some turns that I have always been planning but, perhaps, did not prepare for well enough. I do hope that you all find it in your hearts to forgive me if that is the case.  
  
  
  
I don't own Sailor Moon (no sob story this time!)  
  
THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU ARE THE BEST!!!!!!!!!  
  
  
  
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Beryl stared at the light outline of the moon in the afternoon sky from her balcony. There had been a time when such a sight would have delighted her--to see the most beautiful symbol of nightfall in the daytime- -but those notions, those childish delights, had long since been disposed. She had been only seven when she had come to Earth; the planet had delighted and enthralled her--appealed to her every childish joy. The sorcerer Hamish had discovered her by the forest leading to the castle. He appeared then as he did to this day: youthful, mysterious, dark, and intelligent. He had known that she was not from Earth; he had even named the origin of her extraction. Beryl had been impressed by his promises, by his devotion to her. To this day, Hamish had never done anything to make Beryl question his loyalty.  
  
When the two had originally crossed paths, Beryl had been distracted by her romantic notions surrounding the palace and had answered all of Hamish's pointed questions without a thought. Hamish had knelt beside her and promised her that she would have the palace--that she would be the queen and ruler. He had never named a price, and instead, had always faithfully protected her, helped her.  
  
She never questioned his loyalty, although--over time--his presence had begun to disturb her.  
  
Hamish had taken her from the forest that surrounded the castle all of those years ago and trained her in some dark arts, trained her in the ever-changing ways of the court. . .trained her to seek out, manipulate, control and use the power found in the Negaverse: her original home.  
  
She had been waiting for this moment. . .for so long. . . .  
  
Beryl had managed to destroy the previous rulers, the previous protectors of Earth, but that action was not enough for her rule to remain unquestioned. The people of Earth accepted her as their rightful leader (she had "after all" been Queen Shina's cousin), but there was a race of beings that were not as easily subdued. Queen Selenity of the Moon Kingdom, a mere myth among the mortals of Earth, had vowed that she would rectify the wrongs that had befallen the Shield family. There had been a note--just a note--on Beryl's bed. Had Beryl not the counsel of Nariko and Hamish, she would have dismissed the note; she would have thought it to have come from an angered Earthling.  
  
Nariko and Hamish had shown her the truth. Without their ability to foresee the future and receive visions, the lunarians would be set to deal a fatal blow to Beryl within the year following the eclipse.  
  
A fatal blow. . . .Beryl shivered and pulled her velvet robe tighter around her bony shoulders. They had come too close for her liking.  
  
Even with the annihilation of the entire lunarian race, Beryl's life was still at risk. The Moon Kingdom balanced the Earth Kingdom; Queen Selenity and Queen Shina balanced the two worlds and—sometime long, long ago--allowed earthlings to visit the moon, and lunarians to visit the earth, without the consequence of death. The two queens had created a bond between the planets; it was through this bond that Beryl was able to continue to exist. The mutual strength of both planets provided Beryl with protection—and strength. Just as no lunarian could exist on Earth without this protection, no child of the Negaverse would have been granted life without the security of the bond. When Hamish and Beryl had purged the planet of most of the Shield family—namely Queen Shina--the balance had been disrupted.  
  
The effects were immediate. Beryl felt her life begin to fade and slip.  
  
Hamish, however, proved ever helpful, and taught Beryl how to take the protection—the energy—directly from the Earth. Years later, Selenity would try to take on both sides of the bond herself, and Beryl could feel her own life returning to her. Why Selenity had done so was unanswered; to the knowledge of the earthlings, no one had been to the moon, and no lunarian had come to Earth, for millennia. The bond's establishment did cause great concern at first. However, both Nariko and Hamish began to have visions of Beryl being killed by a lunarian—suddenly, the unification of the two worlds was justified; the lunarians meant to attack.  
  
After the Moon Kingdom was destroyed, Beryl would never again be threatened: no one else could kill her. . . or so the visions explained.  
  
However, the lunarians' annihilation was not enough to keep Beryl well and healthy. Once the lunarians were dispelled into non-existence, the bond would break, and Beryl would suffer greatly for the loss.  
  
She could not continue to drain the earth's energy, to drain Gaia. Hamish and Nariko were both most helpful in discovering the solution to the problem, though.  
  
The royal family had always protected Earth; the family had been chosen for the position because of their connection with the planet. Hamish had told Beryl that she needed to bond with someone who had a strong connection with the planet. Few earthlings had established a connection with Earth at all— much less a strong one. Nariko had dealt with the tyrant queen's fears and had told her that the child who had escaped her grasp so long ago would serve as the perfect bond candidate. Endymion Shields, the lone surviving member of the Earth's royal family, would be linked to Beryl.  
  
Hamish knew the magic that would make Endymion's connection with the Earth link to Beryl, but the queen had asked for more. For long nights, Hamish worked his dark books over in search of a mind drain spell— something to make Endymion 'loyal' to Beryl. Hamish had hesitated over the task. He had presumed that Beryl would take him as her. . . .  
  
Hamish worked hard to make the process fail-safe. The best spell he could find involved the blood of Endymion's wife. . . a wife that could not be Beryl. A messenger had been sent out to Endymion— one of Hamish's own creations, a speedy youma with the ability to transmogrify. The letter had been received just as Nariko had predicted; Endymion was resistant, but in the end, he would be Beryl's and she would do with him whatever she pleased. . . and her mind was already full of ideas inspired by the muscular youth.  
  
  
  
"My queen."  
  
Beryl tore her eyes from the moon and her mind from her thoughts. "Hamish."  
  
"We are ready to begin, my queen. We must start now. Nariko is in the room. She has begun."  
  
Beryl nodded and extended her hand. Hamish took her hand and led her to the throne room. Nariko stood in the center of the room; her rod spun between her hands, the ends sharp. The throne room's roof had been pulled back, and the night sky seeped in from the outdoors. Hamish cast his arm towards the moon where the eclipse had covered half of the glowing orb. Beryl moved to stand under Hamish's palm. His hand clamped down on the top of her head.  
  
"Take into yourself as of the Negaverse's energy," Hamish hissed.  
  
Beryl raised her arms. Ice spikes raced through her body, crawled beneath her skin. Darkness ebbed from her form in thick waves. Spirals of the dark cloud wrapped tightly around the red-haired queen's extended arms and began to snap and crackle at the tips of her fingers, her long nails.  
  
"Take back your life, Beryl," Hamish crooned. He wrapped his left arm around her waist and squeezed her tightly into himself, into his skeleton- thin body. His hand tightened on her skull. "Destroy them. Destroy the Moon Kingdom."  
  
Black lightening shot out from her outstretched hands towards the beautiful glowing orb that hung peaceful in the sky. The dark shadow of the eclipse moved to envelope the entire planet. More lightening. More power. A bright beam of light— sharp and definite, strong and purposeful, striking and yet sorrowful—blasted out from the moon. Beryl fingers flinched to counter the beam, but her movement was unnecessary. In her dying moments, Queen Selenity had misaimed her final strike. Beryl let the dark power roll through her body; it was ecstasy. The moon was black with the Negaverse. . . black with the eclipse. . . black with death.  
  
In her mind, Beryl imagined the screams of pain and torment that the lunarians would have expelled before they shuddered their last strained breath.  
  
Hamish enveloped Beryl in his cloak when she collapsed. The Negaverse's energy dispersed, becoming nothing more than wisps of clouds, memories of domination and success, memories of death. She was weak, and her recovery time would be delayed because of the missing bond, but she would return to herself in a few days. And, within a few months—if not sooner—she would link herself to Endymion and never fear death again.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Earlier to Present:  
  
Queen Selenity watched the black Negaverse power build in one concentrated spot on Earth. She knew the spot well; she used to go there quite often to visit the Earth Queen Shina-- but no more. The lunarians were gathered in the Moon Kingdom's main courtyard; the whole population stood with their heads bowed, the half-moons on their foreheads glowing against the darkness of the eclipse. Queen Selenity stood between two pillars at the tip of the courtyard. Her petite feet rested on a marble base that was raised above the swarms of people. Her crystalline eyes that were so close to her daughter's were harsh with determination, but clouded by an unspoken inner sadness. Selenity needed to be strong—if not for her people who were praying and gathering their energy and strength to donate to her daughter Serenity, than for Serenity, whose journey was only going to become harder.  
  
Queen Selenity clenched her hands on her wand and tore her eyes from Earth. She turned to the lunarians and poised her wand above their heads. Without words, the lunarians pushed their gathered energy into the wand. Queen Selenity grasped the wand and struggled to keep it still. . .so much energy.  
  
Queen Selenity could hear the roar of Beryl's magic but did not sway in her task. Lunarians fell dead on the smooth marble stones in the courtyard from their sacrifice to Serenity or from the black lightening that Beryl had sent crashing into the once peaceful Moon Kingdom. All around the strong queen there was death. . .just death.  
  
The last lunarian fell onto the lifeless bodies in the royal court and died. Queen Selenity stood alone, Beryl's fatal lightening charging for her heart.  
  
She released the energy that had gathered in her wand along with her own life's force. Beryl's lightening slammed into her abdomen, sliced through her stomach like fire tears through desert-dry paper. The light from the wand shot towards the planet, towards Serenity.  
  
The grand queen of the Moon Kingdom lay on the marble slate, her flowing white dress covered in oozing, thick red blood. Her long silver hair stuck to the marble, drenched in her life fluid; the once beautiful strands were red like Beryl.  
  
Pain. . . . Selenity watched calmly with determined and proud blue eyes as the last of Beryl's power slammed into the planet.  
  
"I am sorry, Serenity. Be strong."  
  
Beryl's power sliced through the Moon Kingdom and tore every lunarian apart, ripped their body into indiscernible random slabs of flesh that disintegrated in the heat of the Negaverse's power. The grand pillars that had led to the magnificent castle were the last to fall, but no one was left alive to observe the horror. The lunarians died just as Beryl wanted, but there was one who could still challenge the power of the tyrant queen. . .if she was strong enough.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Left side. Right side. Left side. Right side. Front View. Left Side. Front view. Back view. Back View. BACK view. BACK VIEW.  
  
Endymion pulled the tails of his black suit jacket up and examined his back end closer. The folds on the seat of his pants made his bottom look-- Endymion moved closer to the mirror-- his bottom looked much larger in these pants! He pulled at the side seams to better center his rear in the mirror. Something was definitely wrong with the pants; he could not have possibly been parading about with such a bottom and not have at least noticed! He slapped the excess material down, tried to calm the pointy folds.  
  
"Do you always do that to yourself when we're not around? Shouldn't you be saving that for whatever wench you bed tonight? I'm sure she wouldn't mind a playful slap. You seem quite vigorous."  
  
Endymion dropped his jacket's tail and glared at Zoicite; his brooding blue eyes demanded an immediate explanation for her invasion. "I presume that you have a good reason for barging into my room."  
  
"Well, Endymion, I just thought that I'd get you out of those pants," Zoicite moved close and tried to pull the pants down; Endymion countered her movement with a single hand-down-block. She smirked.  
  
"Zoicite. . . ," Endymion growled.  
  
"You're no fun, Endymion," Zoicite said. "But, you are wearing my pants."  
  
Endymion looked down, his ebony hair falling into his eyes. He had been so preoccupied with the seat of the pants that he had not noted that they were short on him. The cuffs ended above his anklebone. Endymion glared. He stripped out of the pants and threw them over Zoicite's watchful eyes.  
  
"There. Now where are mine?"  
  
"No lack of confidence, hmm, Endymion?" Zoicite teased as she ran her eyes up his bare legs. She watched the muscles in his legs flex and tense when he moved closer.  
  
"My pants, Zoicite."  
  
"They're on your doorknob. Nephrite put them there; he had tried them on, but they were too small for him in the waist and too long for him in the legs. I still think he looked better than you, though."  
  
"Goodbye, Zoicite."  
  
"See you when you're ready, soldier," she said and walked from his room. She snatched his pants from the doorknob and tossed them at his feet before returning to her own room to change.  
  
Endymion quickly pulled the pants up his legs and secured the button and zipper on the front. He grabbed his mask from his bedpost and moved to meet the others who would have grouped in the kitchen. He paused with his hand on the door. Endymion ran back to the mirror.  
  
Left side. Right side. Left side. Right side. Front View. Left Side. Front view. Back view. Back View. Front view. Try out a smile. Good.  
  
He went to meet the others and ride out to Snowball.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Lord Tsuniko slammed his fist into Serenity's door. The young girl flinched and struggled with the clasps on the back of her dress. Columbia had been rewarded with dressing ladies for her good repertoire with Lord Lui Chai, but Serenity had no one to help her dress and ready herself for Snowball. Needless to say, she was much slower than her sister who was waiting— impatiently— with both lords in the den. Another rumble echoed in Serenity's mind as Lord Tsuniko slammed his fist again.  
  
"Serenity!"  
  
"I'm almost done, father!" she said; her fingers fumbled, and she lost the clasp. "I'll just be a few more minutes."  
  
"You do not have 'a few more minutes.' If you are not down the steps and ready within the next minute, you will be riding your horse to Snowball!"  
  
Serenity cringed when she heard his feet stomp down the hall and down the stairs. Her fingers fought to reach the clasp again and secure it in place. She fumbled. Downstairs the door slammed closed. Loud footsteps tread heavily up the stairs. Serenity fought for the clasp.  
  
"The lords have left with Columbia, Serenity! If you make me wait much longer--"  
  
"I am almost done, father!" Serenity called over her shoulder. "I just have a few more clasps to do up."  
  
"At this rate, the weather will be too poor for us to ride in! Do you realize that it will have already started?! Or are you too ignorant?" he hit the door again.  
  
Ride in? Serenity paused and looked down at her dress. The saddle and horse would mar the dress's flawless white fabric. She groaned. What did it matter? There would be no one there she wanted to impress. . .Endymion would be at Snowball. Her eyes unfocussed as she tried to envision what he would look like. . .would she recognize him? Would he recognize her? Jedeite had not. . .she could barely recognize herself when she put the mask on. Her hair was down and dripped over her shoulders in long golden-silver waves; the tips pooled onto the floor in spirals and gentle twists. No, Endymion would not recognize her. No one would. She hoped such luck would extend to encompass Lord Toshio Yiio.  
  
Serenity's fingers found the final clasp and secured the pin in the eyehole. She straightened and looked in the mirror. Her eyes were so sad. The twin crystalline orbs seemed wet with tears and yet she had no intention of releasing the build-up moisture.  
  
"I am ready, father."  
  
Lord Tsuniko went into the room. "Where is your mask?"  
  
"Oh!" Serenity picked up the feathered mask and stood before the mirror to place it over her face.  
  
"I would not be able to distinguish you from the crowd. You present nothing that is of you," he said and turned away from her to leave the room.  
  
"Father?"  
  
He did not turn around. "You will go immediately to Lord Yiio and present yourself to him. He will think that you did not come if you do not give him knowledge of your appearance."  
  
"Yes, fath--" Serenity stopped her speech and let out a heart- striking scream similar to dry nails being raked across a dusty chalkboard.  
  
Lord Tsuniko turned. A blinding light punctured Serenity's body, sliced through her abdomen. Her back arched in pain and felt as though it would break from the pressure. She fell to the ground; the light continued to penetrate her, moving deeper and deeper into her skin. Two long slivers of light glowed from beside her shoulder blades.  
  
Blood.  
  
The light forced its way through Serenity's skin, through the tough layers of her soft flesh. Her voice lost its ability to vocalize her pain and all that came from her gaping mouth was a silent scream, a rush of unarticulated air.  
  
Lord Tsuniko scrambled for the door when the two streams of light came out of Serenity's back. The light did not touch him. Instead, it curled back and dove to the floor, just touching the ground. The light lifted Serenity, and the petrified young woman could do nothing to resist its power.  
  
The light dove again, until it was floor length when she was standing. It expanded and grew, solidified and took form. White feathers burst free of the light and covered the glowing form. Serenity screamed as the feathers materialized; pain burst anew with every plume. The blood that had speckled her shoulders dissipated, and the light faded until Serenity stood, looking very much like she had before the light had wrenched itself through her body, only now. . .only now a pair of white wings tipped in gold protruded from her back's once-smooth skin.  
  
Serenity collapsed onto the floor; the wings moved around her body to protect her from outward harm. She flexed them experimentally; they were very much a part of her body. She could feel tension in the wings, feel each sinew and movement. She knew how they would respond to her, how to control them, how to move them and use them. They were just another part of herself that she had not known existed, but she always had the knowledge to use them. She knew this. . .somehow, Serenity knew this.  
  
Lord Tsuniko sat on the floor in stupefied fear. His anger told him to lash out at her, to call Serenity a blasphemous demon and whore. His instincts told him to run and not upset the empowered Serenity.  
  
Serenity found strength to stand and look at her father. He met her searching eyes with a glare. She shuddered and bowed her head. "I-I am sorry, father. I do not know what to say."  
  
"Get outside. We are going to the ball."  
  
"What??"  
  
"Get outside now!" he shouted, anger colouring his tone. "If I don't have you gone by the end of Snowball, I will have you burned for witchery! Now get out!"  
  
Serenity held the feathered mask to her face with one hand and lifted the front hem of her dress with the other as she ran from the room. Outside, a carriage was waiting for them— her father's threats of riding were apparently idle. Lord Tsuniko assumed the position of carriage driver and raced them towards the town, towards Snowball. Above them the moon was black. Serenity's eyes gazed at it in a mix of horror and fascination.  
  
Funny Serenity thought. I thought that the darkness would not occur until later. . . .  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Candles with dripping wax. Clinking of champagne bottles. Boisterous laughter. Bodies: masses and masses of dancing bodies. Endymion sat in a corner seat and nursed a glass of champagne. He had half a mind to drink himself silly and drown his misery in the white bubbly. He refrained; there was-- even in the slightest portion-- the chance that Serenity would come to Snowball. Her sister Columbia had arrived in the company of two older men. Endymion had tried to talk to Columbia to find out whether or not Serenity would be there, but Nephrite had raised a warning hand and Endymion reseated himself. He now stared at the door.  
  
Stared at the door. . .  
  
. . .at the door.  
  
Endymion cringed. This was horrible. The other generals were dancing, aside with Nephrite who had been charged with watching Endymion and keeping him away from Serenity, and he was sitting at a nearly empty table at the back of the room taking baby sips of champagne.  
  
"I'm going to find someone to dance with."  
  
Nephrite raised an eyebrow. "No."  
  
"She's not here, Nephrite," Endymion said.  
  
"I don't care."  
  
"It's just a dance."  
  
"No."  
  
"One dance."  
  
"No."  
  
"You know what? I don't have to listen to you. I don't know why I am even bothering playing along with your stupid babysitting games," he said and rose from the table.  
  
"Sit down, Endymion."  
  
"No."  
  
Endymion started to walk away from the table but stopped short when he looked at the main entrance. An angel had walked into the room.  
  
His heart stuttered and stopped, stuttered again. . . . It suddenly did not matter if Nephrite was tugging on his sleeve. . . . It didn't matter that Jedeite and Kunzite and Zoicite would seek out his blood for rising from the table. . . . All that mattered was getting to the woman before anyone else.  
  
  
  
  
  
Serenity looked around Snowball with wide eyes. Gizbourne had held true to his promise, and many of his troops were out on the dance floor or casually sipping wine and nibbling on one treat or another. The town's main hall had never been as full as it was now. Children wove between the crowds calling out to one another in cheerful jest; couples spun together across the hard wood floor and shared secretive smiles and nods that only they could understand. Serenity could find no one she knew. The costumes seemed much more elaborate and complete than they had in the years before; she suspected that the presence of the single officers and handsome soldiers played some role in that fact.  
  
Lord Tsuniko grabbed her forearm and began to pull her through the crowds gathered by the door. She did not struggle against his grip, but hoped Ami would find her and cause her father to leave. He had never enjoyed being around the two when they talked-- too much energy for his comfort level. Ami, however, was just as lost amongst the masses as anyone else.  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
Both Serenity and Lord Tsuniko turned to face the voice. A tall man stood in front of them in a wolf mask. His eyes shone blue from beneath the layers of fur covering the mask, a soft, gentle blue traced with something. . .something cold. Serenity bowed to him, her wings spreading out around her for balance.  
  
"That is a stunning costume," the man whispered, his breath seemed stolen. "I barely have the courage to ask you to dance, but if I don't, I know that I will regret it. Will you grant me a dance, sweet angel? I will wait all night if it is your preference, or I can escort you to the floor now if it is your desire."  
  
Lord Tsuniko harrumphed and tightened his grip on Serenity's arm. She continued to stare into the eyes of the wolf. His presence made her dizzy, as though everything was sliding in or out of place so quickly that she had lost all her orientation and was now drowning in her mind. She felt suffocated and shocked, content and safe. He was waiting for her answer but was not rushed. She tore her crystalline eyes away from him and refocused her concentration on breathing. . .on simple breaths. Her father tightened his grip; she stepped forward against his restraint.  
  
"I would like to dance."  
  
From beneath the black mesh that covered the man's face just below his nose, Serenity could make out a smile. . .an innocent, sweet smile. . . . Serenity resisted the urge to pull away his mask and see his face, although he could not be the one she had hoped to find—had feared to find. She pulled away from her father who stood in angry silence. He would not be able to say anything without risking offense to the man who now extended a gloved hand to Serenity. She stepped forward again and accepted his simple touch. His hand swallowed hers, and she stared at the conjoined hands for a moment. Why could he not be Endymion? Why could Endymion not hold her hand in such a way as to make her believe that their grip was the only thing that kept her alive? Why did she have to think about him at all?  
  
  
  
Endymion pulled the angel closer to him and watched her hidden face as he began to lead her through the first steps of the dance. His left hand grazed the small of her back, and the angel responded by moving closer to him. He had never excelled at dancing, but now it was so easy. . .she offered him no resistance and followed whatever step he chose to take. Her wings had spread when she had bowed, and Endymion had been thoroughly impressed by the advancements made in costumes. To think that she could have hidden a string to pull them-- or placed weights within the feathers-- so that they would expand when she bowed was creative and intriguing. But the wings were not what enthralled him.  
  
She enchanted his mind and tainted his everything thought; it was her, just her. He was rapt by her presence, just as he had been when they had first met. Endymion had never gotten to hold her like he embraced her now. She was shorter than he was; her head was crowned with long golden- silver hair that swam down her back in long waves that nearly brushed the floor. Her crystalline eyes were welled with innocence-- lipid purity. He knew who she was and could only hope that no one else did. He hoped that the generals did not recognize her.  
  
The song changed: another waltz.  
  
He swung her out, and immediately regretted his decision to do so. He was raped of her presence, and although they never broke from each other's contact, Endymion felt panicked. Serenity spun out, her wings moving and shifting slightly. She held every eye spellbound, and Endymion felt proud, yet possessive.  
  
Endymion faltered when Serenity returned to his embrace and rested her head on his chest. His heart pummeled his chest and ribs in an attempt to free itself and give itself to Serenity. Endymion heard a soft laugh, a tiny giggle, come from the silken lips. He opened his mouth to ask her what had amused her.  
  
"Lord Shields?"  
  
Serenity's body went rigid against his.  
  
(Oh, please, no. . . .) he thought. ( Please not yet. Please don't take her away from me yet. Let her think that I am someone else. . .anyone else. . . any other man who just coincidentally has the last name Shields. . . . It could be a common last name, right?)  
  
He squeezed her hand and continued to dance. He brought his face closer to the top of her had and inhaled. The air he exhaled stirred the golden- silver strands and brought a small gasp from Serenity's mouth. Her flesh prickled with goose bumps, and Endymion smiled at her innocence. She reacted to everything about him as though he was the first person to ever touch her or pay attention to her. His happiness was cut short, however, when he notice that her movements were weighted. She knew.  
  
"Lord Shields?" the voice asked again.  
  
Endymion stopped moving, but would not release Serenity's hand. He held it with care, but applied a firm force to let her know that he did not wish her to leave. He turned to face his addressor. The messenger from the barn months ago stood before him. He wore the mask of an oxen's head, lifelike and frightening. Serenity stood her ground although many other people who looked at him shied from the hideous costume. Endymion's cold eyes challenged the messenger, challenged his presence.  
  
"I am not a lord. Leave us alone."  
  
The short man's mask seemed to leer at them with its black beady eyes laced with red hues. He thrust a letter into Endymion's face. Serenity shied away from the letter, a moan flew from her soft lips, and she pulled on Endymion's firm arm.  
  
"Endymion. . . ," she whispered.  
  
"My lord I must insist that you take this letter. I come directly from Queen Beryl who requests your immediate response," the messenger said. His voice carried over the music and clawed into the ears of every person in attendance. Endymion's friends started towards them; Jedeite was the first to reach the group.  
  
"Take this outside," Jedeite said.  
  
"I do not have time for your games, general," the messenger said. He struck Endymion's shoulder with the letter. "You will open this now, Lord Shields."  
  
Serenity extracted her arm from Endymion. He looked away from the messenger. Jedeite stepped up to the white-clad angel. "Serenity, perhaps it would be best for you to leave us."  
  
Serenity tipped her head in acknowledgement of Jedeite's request but did not move. Endymion took the letter from the messenger. Aside from a few wary glances, their small gathering had not drawn much attention from other Snowball-goers. Endymion fingered the wax seal; the seal seemed familiar-- not familiar because it was the same as the other letters-- something about the royal stamp tickled his memory, further than his initial introduction to the letters from Queen Beryl. . .but what?  
  
Endymion pushed his mask away from his face and tore the wax from the paper. Serenity walked away, her wings surrounding her shoulders. Endymion swiped his dark ebony hair from his forehead.  
  
"I told you to stay away from her."  
  
"I didn't know it was her."  
  
Jedeite's eyes thinned. "You knew."  
  
"No. Not until we were already dancing," Endymion said. He began to read the letter, but stopped after discovering nothing more than repetition. He turned to the poorly clad messenger. "I have heard all this before!"  
  
"Keep your voice down, Endymion. Some of us are enjoying this party," Zoicite sneered as she and Kunzite neared the same gathering.  
  
"It is a reminder. Just in case you stray from your path. You have little time left before you are to begin traveling. You will need to have been wed by then."  
  
"Would you just leave me alone? I'm not a lord! I'm not whatever it is that you think I am! Just leave me be!"  
  
"Take it outside, Endymion."  
  
"There's nothing to take outside!"  
  
"Then go there to cool off!" Nephrite snapped as he approached. "You're a bloody idiot to think that you can make a scene like this here!"  
  
Endymion wanted to say more but noted the drawing interest they were creating from the other guests. With a frown, Endymion left the confrontation and stormed towards the large French doors. Pushing them open, he found himself on a balcony surrounded by stinging cold. It was unusually dark. He looked to the sky. The moon was still in eclipse. Endymion frowned; it seemed too long for an eclipse. He pulled his cold blue eyes from the sky and let them rest on the silhouette of an angel shivering and leaning over the balcony. Her innocent eyes were skyward, watching the curiousity of the moon. Endymion's breath was weighted. He approached her. The soldier moved with silent stealth. He didn't wish for her to anticipate his advance and run.  
  
"You knew it was me," Serenity's small voice spoke into the night sky. She hadn't turned around, and she couldn't have heard his advance. Endymion stopped walking. Serenity's eyes remained on the sky. Endymion was close enough to hear the quivering of her breath in the cold.  
  
"You shouldn't be out here," Endymion said firmly. He moved closer but stopped again when her body tensed with the sound of his footsteps.  
  
"I will decide that," Serenity said. She shifted so that Endymion could no longer see her face. There was a long silence before Serenity spoke again. "There is something wrong with the moon."  
  
Endymion looked up and saw the looming darkness where the milky moonlight used to pool in the sky. "It is probably nothing. The eclipse is just longer," Endymion said. Serenity wheeled to face him. Her eyes were filled with fear.  
  
"No, it is more," she said before her blue eyes averted to the ground. "I-I don't know how to explain this to you. . . . I don't understand it. . . . Something feels. . .wrong."  
  
Endymion opened his soft mouth to speak but was cut short by another voice. "Serenity, what are you doing out here!"  
  
Serenity lifted her head and looked past Endymion. Endymion turned to see Lord Tsuniko standing at the doors. The noble considered Endymion with a withering glare before curtly bringing his gaze back to his daughter. "Get inside. Lord Toshio Yiio has been waiting long enough, and I will not tolerate this nonsense any longer. If he doesn't take to you, I will keep my promise, Serenity. I advise that you do what is in your best interest."  
  
"Yes, Father," Serenity said in a meek voice. She kept her head bent when she brushed past Endymion and walked into the confines of the ballroom.  
  
"Promise?" Endymion asked quietly.  
  
"That is none of your concern, soldier," Lord Tsuniko snapped.  
  
"You mean 'Lord,'" the messenger said appearing behind Lord Tsuniko.  
  
"I am not a lord!" Endymion growled at the fumbling messenger. "Shouldn't you have left? Your purpose here has been served. I have your message now leave me in peace!" His dark eyes glowed with venomous contempt.  
  
"Yes, of course, my Lord," the messenger nodded with a smug grin before he slipped behind the doors again. Endymion did not bother to correct him.  
  
"Stay away from my daughter."  
  
Endymion turned to Lord Tsuniko in surprise. "Excuse me?"  
  
"Stay away from my daughter! She does not need a soldier to scar her reputation before she is married. No one would consider her if you stained her."  
  
Endymion forced his mask off his face and held it in his hands. Lord Tsuniko shriveled beneath Endymion's gaze.  
  
Who was Lord Tsuniko to tell Endymion to stay away from Serenity? Who were the generals to depict who he could and could not. . . could not lo-- Why was everyone telling him to stay away?! Why did the people who he was closest to not support him in. . .in. . . . Why was everyone so against him?!  
  
Lord Tsuniko had raised his hands in defense. Endymion's features had darkened into anger. Lord Tsuniko believed that Endymion thought to strike him.  
  
The soldier forced his way back into the ballroom, shoving Lord Tsuniko out of his way in the process. He slammed his wolf mask back over his face; the bottom ended just beneath his nose. Serenity twirled out on the dance floor in the arms of another man. Endymion presumed that it was the lord her father had spoken of-- Lord Toshio. . .Ying Yeng or what it was. Jedeite's head popped up to look at Endymion and a shadow crossed over his face when he saw the soldier's direction. Jedeite sat at the back of the room at the general's table. He stood up and began to weave his way through the crowd. He could not move fast enough. Endymion reached Serenity.  
  
"Serenity."  
  
"Excuse me, but we are dancing here. Why don't you stop embarrassing yourself and leave us alone."  
  
"Serenity."  
  
"Excuse me, did you not hear me?"  
  
Endymion snatched the noble's wrist off Serenity's waist and distanced the two from each other. The noble stormed away in anger; he had no wish to bring the larger, younger man to rage, besides a gentlemen would not never quarrel or fight in the presence of ladies. Endymion turned his back on the departing noble and clutched Serenity's hand in his. Serenity's eyes were wide from beneath her mask. Endymion pulled the feathered obstacle from her face and saw the full force of her beauty unhindered. A kiss of rose tinted her cheeks, and the angel tried to look away from Endymion but found herself utterly helpless beneath his intense gaze. His fingers traced her jaw and came to rest on her lips. They were wet and soft against his fingers, and he moaned, the sound practically inaudible.  
  
Serenity trembled as Endymion lowered his mouth closer to hers. She inhaled his scent: roses and leather, spices mingled with sweat. His hands brushed over her bare shoulders, over her untouched milky skin, and traced down her back in slow sensual circles. His fingers trailed over the buttons on the back of her white dress with gentle implication but no intent. He surrounded her body in his strong arms, protected her from everything, and drew her small form into himself. Her petite frame pressed into his solid, sinewy body, molded to his own form in ways that no other had ever done, and he fought a loosing battle with his raging arousal. He dipped his head lower and quipped her neck with his wet lips quickly. . . so quickly.  
  
Serenity leaned into him; her hands outlined the muscles on his arms in distracted desire. His breath tickled her kissed skin and prickled the soft flesh. He moaned into her neck in accompaniment with his second kiss. A low whimper dripped from her lips and pooled in Endymion's ears. He pulled his head back and penetrated her vision with his own blue-eyed stare. Serenity wished she could see his entire face without the wolf mask.  
  
The space between them was nonexistent as they danced. Endymion's ebony bangs brushed against Serenity's forehead as they drew closer to each other, moving her own golden-silver bangs back. Their breath intermingled and played. The heat rose into their faces, a private fire that only the two could share. Endymion paused when he saw a half moon on her skin, glowing strong in the center of her forehead. He frowned and studied it closer. It was obviously a part of her skin, but how. . . .  
  
Serenity followed his eyes and pushed away, taking his notice as rejection. Endymion stepped towards her, but the angel moved farther away, her wings extending. They stared at each other for a moment, judging looks and postures, positions and appearances. Serenity stepped backwards again, and her father grabbed her wrist. Her mouth opened in silent cry as Lord Tsuniko's fingers drove into her skin, and she was escorted away from Snowball. Jedeite came to stand beside Endymion who could only watch with confusion as she fled his vision.  
  
"It wouldn't have worked, Endymion. I am sorry, but it cannot happen."  
  
  
  
  
  
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	17. Accused

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Author's Note: Hello all! I am so very sorry that this has taken me so long to post (and I am very sorry that it is so short, but I had to break it into smaller parts so I could post sooner. I hope that you all enjoy the next instalment! This is definitely thanks to Sofia that this chapter actually got out (I've been drowning in studies with university!) Don't forget to read and review!!! Thanks!!!  
  
Enjoy!!!!  
  
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Lord Tsuniko threw Serenity into a private room just down the hall from the ballroom. She tripped on the train of her white dress and stumbled onto the floor. Lord Tsuniko slammed the door shut and stormed over to Serenity, his hands lifting her on off the floor by her neck. Rage bled from his eyes in angry torrents and pierced through Serenity's own innocent orbs. The noble quaked with anger.  
  
"Who do you think you are?!"  
  
"W-what?"  
  
He slammed her against the white wall, his calloused hand tightening around her lily neck. "Do you have any idea how angry Lord Toshio Yiio is?! How dare you throw yourself at some lowly soldier while dancing with him!! Everything that I have worked so hard for is in ruins, and now even Columbia's partnership with Lord Liu Chai is endangered! And all because of you!" he thrashed her against the wall; her head bounced against it with a loud thud. Serenity's fingers tried to pry off his constricting fingers. "How could you think to do this to me! Did you even think at all?!"  
  
Serenity stopped struggling against the suffocating grip around her neck and blocked her father's other hand as it swung at her face. His eyes swelled with greater anger, and he slammed his balled left hand into her petite stomach. The air expelled from her mouth in a pained grunt, and she crumpled to the floor, her gold-tipped wings surrounding her body in a protective embrace. Her father's hand dove into the feathers and found the spot where they connected to her back. He pulled. Serenity released an ear-shattering scream. Lord Tsuniko pulled at her wings harder, raping the feathers from their home, and giving cause for blood to flow. Serenity could feel the sticky red heat weave through the thick feathers. Serenity slammed her palms into the noble's face. He fell over onto the floor with a bloodied nose.  
  
He didn't move.  
  
Someone knocked at the door Lord Tsuniko had closed.  
  
Serenity took another look at Lord Tsuniko; he was breathing. The doorknob twisted, and Serenity jumped away from the unconscious body. She ran to a window and forced it open just as the person entered.  
  
"Serenity?" the voice belonged to Nephrite. She turned to face him. "Serenity. . .what happened?"  
  
She just shook her head and backed into the wall with the window. Nephrite went to take a step towards Serenity. The angel scrambled out of the window, fearing her punishment. The drop to the ground was not far, three feet at most as they were on the main level, but her feet never touched the ground. In her shaken state, Serenity took to the air and flew. Nephrite ran to the window but found no trace of her; it was too dark to discern footprints in the snow. The general went to find some medical assistance for the unconscious noble; Serenity would return on her own time.  
  
  
  
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The moon began to fade out of its eclipse shortly after Serenity left the ball. She did not realize that she was flying. Her shock was too great, as was her fear. She had knocked out her own father. . .blood- related or not, she had rendered the man in charge of her well-being unconscious. Life seemed to slow terror, a dragged out time of waiting in fear.  
  
Above her, the moon reappeared, free of the darkness.  
  
Serenity felt pain tear through her body like sharp swords fresh with blistering flame. Her wings felt on fire. Air failed her. She could not breathe. Each fight for air vacuumed the oxygen from her lungs. She clawed at her neck, struggled to release the invisible clamp raping her of life. Her nails cut into the smooth flesh and warm liquid dripped onto the snow. She was not far from the ground now. Her wings were failing, but in her struggle for breath, she did not feel them fade into the initial blinding light and disperse.  
  
The same strong beam of light pierced through Serenity's body, carved itself through her abdomen. Her back arced in an unnatural curve, and Serenity passed out from the pain. The light held her suspended in the air; it raced through her body, through her every sinew and nerve. The light dug into her skin and slammed her into the unmarred snowy ground. Blood oozed from twin divides beside her shoulder blades where her wings had once been. The light shot out from her body and left her. Serenity lay unconscious in the cold flurries. The blood's sticky warmth melted the snow until it too froze into ice. Her mouth hung partially open, her voice unable to vocalize her futile struggle for life. Her shuddered with a final breath before her body began to shut down. This was the consequence of the broken bond between Earth and the Moon Kingdom. This was the consequence Serenity was helpless against.  
  
  
  
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Three generals accompanied Endymion on the ride back to the cabin. Nephrite had offered to stay with Lord Tsuniko and aid in the noble's recovery. Nephrite said that he felt partially responsible, although none of the other generals or Endymion understood why he would. Lord Tsuniko had apparently fainted. Endymion had no interest in remaining at Snowball, despite the many pleas of the other women in attendance. It was with ill humour that the soldier still found himself removing the well-placed handkerchiefs of many of the ladies in attendance. He reeked of their strong floral perfumes, none of which were rose. His horse had even seemed offended by his stench. The generals would have been unrelenting with their jests, but Endymion's current mood only admitted comments from Zoicite's unstoppable mouth.  
  
"What the--" Jedeite pulled his horse to a sudden stop mid trot. Endymion continued on, his head low, but Zoicite and Kunzite stopped with Jedeite.  
  
"It's probably nothing, Jedeite," Kunzite muttered as his eyes joined in Jedeite's view. "Just a star."  
  
"That's not a star."  
  
Zoicite rolled her eyes at him and jerked her thumb at Endymion. "It's probably just his stink reacting with the atmosphere."  
  
"At least I don't look like a monkey in a negligee," Endymion snapped as he brought his horse up short and spun it about to face the generals.  
  
"That's your big comeback?!" Zoicite snorted.  
  
"What're you going to do? Hit me with your purse?" he sneered.  
  
Zoicite reached into her leather saddlebag and brought out a thick horse biscuit. She pelted him in the head. Endymion snarled, and Zoicite laughed. "Are you really so sore about me being bigger than you. It's really not a hard thing when all you sport, Endymion, is a pencil."  
  
Kunzite raised an eyebrow at Zoicite. "And just when were you playing with his 'pencil,' my love?"  
  
"I never did, Kunzite," Zoicite quipped with a sultry smile at her lover. "I couldn't find it."  
  
Endymion drew out his knife and pointed it at Zoicite. "That's enough."  
  
Zoicite laughed. "Compensating for something, Endymion? I thought that your sword would serve as a better phallic symbol! But then again, I'm not sure that you would know what to do with something so big."  
  
"That explains why you're so bad in bed with Kunzite," Endymion said. "I think he'd enjoy me much better."  
  
Zoicite's face coloured crimson, but her snide smile remained on her lips. "Only because you would have to pay full attention to him; you have nothing that could be stimulated."  
  
"If he is half the man I am, I am certain that he could find ways to please me. Unlike you, others do prove themselves to be worthwhile in bed. There are few in this world as lazy as you."  
  
Kunzite cut in before Zoicite could retort. "I, um, thank you for your, um, faith in me, Endymion, but I do not find this argument to be doing anything but, um, embarrass me and make me question your own sexuality."  
  
Endymion turned pleasantly lilac. "I am sorry to disappoint, but I only know love for one, and she is not male."  
  
"In love with yourself are you?" Zoicite sneered. Her voice was quieter than it had been for her previous jibs; even she was sensitive to his feelings for Serenity.  
  
"That's enough! Endymion, you are to come with me. Zoicite and Kunzite, you are to return to the cabin," Jedeite ordered. The others would not question his words; he was their superior whether they were on- duty or not. Kunzite and Zoicite bowed their heads and removed their horses, setting out for the cabin again. Endymion turned to Jedeite with a questioning look stretched over his face.  
  
"And where are we going?"  
  
"Something landed over there, Endymion. It is not far, and I fully intend to know what it was."  
  
"A snow owl?" Endymion offered sarcastically before booting his horse after Jedeite's departing form.  
  
Jedeite shook his head, his short blond hair fell into his gray-blue eyes. "Do not be so bitter about Serenity. It could not work, Endymion. She is not meant for you."  
  
Endymion inhaled sharply and bit back his rage. "She is."  
  
Jedeite looked over at him. Endymion's blue eyes were cold, seemingly frozen in acrimony against the equally frosty landscape of his snow-blushed face. Jedeite forced his horse into a quicker pace. "You are a soldier, Endymion. You could not keep her."  
  
"I am not a soldier. I am a noble."  
  
"Convenient, isn't it?" Jedeite smiled.  
  
Endymion glanced over at the general but quickly returned his gaze to their path. "What?"  
  
"You are a noble."  
  
Endymion opened his mouth to demand to know what Jedeite meant by his words; instead, a surprised hiss escaped his lips. "Jedeite! Over there!"  
  
He swung from his horse's back and trudged through the snow towards the fallen body in the snow. Had the surrounding area not been stained red by blood, he doubted he would have found the fallen form. When he neared the body, he let out a horrified howl. Serenity lay facedown in the snow, her chest unmoving. He rolled her body over, and she lay on her back by the time Jedeite reached the pair.  
  
"Oh gods. . . Serenity."  
  
"She's not breathing." Endymion tilted her chin back and moved to press his mouth over hers. Jedeite stopped him.  
  
"Endymion, let me." Jedeite rested a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "You should not be the one to have to do this."  
  
"I'll be fine. I--"  
  
Jedeite simply pushed the younger man away and proceeded to give Serenity breath. Endymion watched in stunned silence, fighting off anger, confusion, hurt, and fear. He was livid enough to kill Jedeite; he watched as the general's mouth encircled Serenity's soft lips--a horrible kiss that Endymion was made to observe in tortured silence. He imagined what her lips would feel like, what her mouth would taste like, but these thoughts were overrode with fear that she would not live to give him such gifts. She lay before him, and he was helpless. There was nothing that he could do but sit and watch another man attempt to give her life.  
  
Against the crimson snow, Serenity seemed even more petite and frail. Her blonde-silver hair fanned out around her head, the halo of an angel. Her cheeks were blue, her eyelids pale gray. His fingers grazed the bloody snow; there was no warmth left in the sanguine fluid. Serenity had been out here far too long; she would not survive. Endymion's eyes locked on Jedeite in desperation. The other general continued to give Serenity air without success. She would not start to breathe on her own. She could not support her own intake of breath. Jedeite pulled away from Serenity after expelling a final two breaths. Endymion's angel's chest did not rise or fall with life; she was dead.  
  
A small whimper skipped from Endymion's tongue, and he latched onto Serenity's hand. His body seized at the contact, ever muscle clutched in an immovable grip. A cry jolted from his mouth as every breath he had ever breathed was torn from him, expelled into the air. His lungs felt flat with pressure. He felt Serenity's hand tighten around his. His body fell into the snow. Endymion's open eyes scratched against the icy snow covering the winter-hugged ground. He forced them shut.  
  
Jedeite's strong hands ripped Endymion from the ground. The general's face was twisted with questions, but he did not voice his concerns for the soldier's strange behavior. "She's breathing, but it's shallow. This--" Jedeite stopped, not quite knowing what to say, but knowing full-well its implications. "I don't think that you should leave her just now. You're going to be the one to take her back to the cabin, and you're going to be the one to care for her."  
  
"What?" Endymion struggled to comprehend Jedeite's sudden change of heart.  
  
"I had nothing to do with her breath, Endymion." The general squeezed Endymion's shoulder tightly. "I gave up on her. I stopped giving her breath, but when you took her hand. I don't understand what's going on, but I don't think that we should risk her life unnecessarily. Do you understand?"  
  
Endymion shook his head, his ebony hair falling in front of his ice- blue eyes. "Not in the least."  
  
"Then just do what I say, and get on the horse with Serenity. We'll take her back to the cabin. I doubt she would survive the trip into town; even if she did, she would not fare well."  
  
Endymion's body was weak, but he gathered Serenity into his arms. She did not even acknowledge his lift with the slightest murmur or shift of body. She was an unresponsive weight in his arms, and he felt more protective over her than he had ever experienced with any one. He drew her closer to his chest and stood in the snow. Jedeite followed suit, striking out ahead of Endymion. Jedeite collected the horses' reins and moved to assist Endymion with the mount. Endymion shied away from the general's outstretched arms, entirely unwilling to give Serenity to another.  
  
"You cannot mount with her in your arms."  
  
Endymion ignored the warning and took his horse's reins from Jedeite. He clasped Serenity's body to his with a single arm, and pulled the reins lower to the ground. His horse kneeled. Without looking back at Jedeite to see the response of surprise he would have normally delighted in, Endymion swung over the horse's broad back and settled himself in the saddle. He rested Serenity in front of him so that her head would lie against his shoulder. His right hand curled around her petite waist to support her limp figure and keep it close to him.  
  
"Endymion," Jedeite called from the back of his own horse. Endymion turned and caught the item that Jedeite threw across the small distance separating them. "Wrap this around her; she's sick enough already. There's no reason to make her more ill."  
  
Endymion unfolded Jedeite's thick cloak and pulled it tightly around Serenity's body. He missed her conscious signs of life; he was sure that she would have yelled at him for paying such attention to her, for even thinking to touch her. He spurred his horse after Jedeite and took off towards the cabin.  
  
  
  
  
  
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Kunzite and Zoicite had been enjoying a deep kiss when Jedeite burst in the cabin demanding blankets and fire. The two generals had been irritated by Jedeite's orders, but had not questioned his authority. They set out to do what he had asked: Zoicite tended to the fire, and Kunzite gathered as many blankets as he could. When Endymion walked in with Serenity unconscious in his strong arms, they understood the importance of their tasks. Kunzite, assisted by Jedeite, made a bed of fur blankets and feather duvets on the floor in front of the fire. Zoicite came and peered into Endymion's face. She smirked at his determined glare.  
  
"Give her to me."  
  
"No."  
  
Zoicite flicked her hand at Endymion, an action that might have been cute had she been in her female form, but was now only threatening as she was in her male body. "Fine. You change her clothes."  
  
Endymion's face darkened, and he shook his head. "I can't."  
  
"Then, you're going to have to let me, now aren't you?" Zoicite smirked.  
  
"Just give her to Zoicite, Endymion. Nothing's going to happen to her," Kunzite said in a soothing tone. He made up for Zoicite's blunt nature more often than not.  
  
Endymion slowly handed Serenity to Zoicite. "Be careful with her head. You have to support her neck, or she'll wake up with cramped muscles. And don't shift her too much when you walk; maybe I should be the one to take her into the room. Here--" Endymion reached forward, but Zoicite stepped back. "I've got it, Endymion," Zoicite quipped. She turned carefully and disappeared into her room. Endymion walked to the door and waited, listening closely for any sounds of slight mismanagement or abuse.  
  
"What happened to her?" Kunzite asked. He brushed his long silver hair away from his light blue eyes. "Where'd you find her?"  
  
Endymion did not answer. His eyes were closed in concentration. Jedeite did, however, reply to Kunzite's askance. "She was in the snow. I suspect that she ran away on a horse, but fell."  
  
"You're lying," Endymion said. His midnight eyes opened with awed shock, as though something had only just occurred to him. "The snow around her was unbroken, and there were no footprints anywhere around her."  
  
"What do you mean by--"  
  
Jedeite interrupted Kunzite by putting a hand on his arm. "Endymion, go see Serenity. Stay near her."  
  
"What--"  
  
"Now, Endymion." Jedeite's tone was unquestionably stern and commanding. Endymion retreated into Zoicite's room. The female general had removed the rock that kept her in her male form and was now female in all respects. Serenity had been clothed in soft cotton clothes, but wore nothing on her legs. Endymion looked away with a sharp blush stabbing his cheeks. Zoicite looked up in surprise of his intrusion.  
  
"You can carry her back in. I would stumble in this body."  
  
Endymion arced an ebony eyebrow at Zoicite's genteel manner but would not raise his head. "Could you wrap something around her. . .legs?"  
  
Zoicite laughed at Endymion's deepening blush before she obliged his request. "Since when did you turn to such a puss? You can't even look at a woman's body anymore?"  
  
"I would not do that to Serenity."  
  
"So you'd do that to me."  
  
"If I wanted to, without hesitation," Endymion confessed.  
  
Zoicite laughed even more. She walked close to Endymion and pulled his head up by his ebony strands of hair. "She's all yours now. I can send in Jedeite to carry her out if you can't handle it."  
  
Endymion shook his head and moved to the bed. He gathered Serenity in his arms. "Open the door for me."  
  
Zoicite paused with her hand on the doorknob. "Endymion, can I ask you a serious question?"  
  
"What? Serenity needs heat; she's at risk of--"  
  
"I know, but as a friend, I need to know this." Zoicite's face mimicked genuine concern. "What's going on with you? You've never been like this before. Is it because of the messenger?"  
  
"Is what?"  
  
"Endymion, we've all noticed it. You've been nothing short of strange recently. It's like you've completely flipped out, only in a very quiet way. You're not yourself unless you and I are arguing, and even then you've been more defensive than you've ever been before. What's up with you? I'm. . .Endymion, I'm worried about you."  
  
Endymion clenched Serenity tighter and shook his head. "There's nothing wrong with me. I've just had a lot on my mind. Can we go now?"  
  
"Yeah, sorry." Zoicite opened the door and stepped aside to allow Endymion room to go past. She caught his arm before he could fully exit. "Just take care of yourself, okay? I could never find another person to find a love-hate relationship with that's as rewarding as this one is."  
  
Endymion made no reply, but Zoicite knew that the soldier had taken her message to heart. Kunzite and Jedeite stepped away so that Endymion could lay Serenity on the floor. Jedeite squeezed his shoulder when he had finished wrapping Serenity in the blankets. "You and I will sleep out here tonight, Endymion," Jedeite said. "When Nephrite comes back, I'll go for a doctor."  
  
"Get the girl."  
  
"What?"  
  
Endymion sat on the floor beside Serenity and brushed back her bangs. A bright half moon glowed vibrantly on her forehead. He covered it with his hands. He didn't understand. "She has a friend. Get her, not the other doctor."  
  
"Endymion, you don't play around with a person's health like that."  
  
"Jedeite, I know what I'm doing. It's better for Serenity. I don't understand, but I think her friend might."  
  
"What don't you understand?"  
  
The front door to the cabin swung open, and a snow-covered Nephrite entered the small entry. "Jedeite! Kunzite! Zoicite! You'll never guess what happened when Lord Tsuniko came to his senses! Where are you idiots?!"  
  
"Keep your voice down, Nephrite," Jedeite hissed. He stood and moved away from Serenity and Endymion. Nephrite had not seen the unconscious woman or watchful man when he walked into the house. "Lord Tsuniko is well."  
  
"Better than well, actually," Nephrite sniffed with a smirk. "He has been under a horrible hex for all the time that we have known him!"  
  
"A hex?" Kunzite questioned as he and Zoicite emerged from the female general's room.  
  
Nephrite nodded with a self-gratified smile. "He had fainted because he had finally fought off the hex! He's free from the dark arts that held him!"  
  
Jedeite shook his head. "And why is this so contenting to you, Nephrite?"  
  
"Well, you'll never guess who the witch is, and if you do I will think you most clever."  
  
"I only knew one 'witch,' Nephrite," Zoicite intervened. "And she had enough sense to tell me about a little law governing those who have been gifted by your so-called 'dark arts.' The Threefold Law would prohibit any witch from performing negative castings on anyone. To cast a hex on another with the intention of evil--as you seem to hint at--would prove entirely detrimental to the caster, to the witch. No one casts hexes on another person unless it is at their request."  
  
"Or unless they're a powerful witch who has enchanted many people, including our Endymion," Nephrite said, his excited incontrollable. "Serenity's been keeping Lord Tsuniko under a spell to keep him from telling everyone what she really is: a witch! She's cursed Endymion to make his sympathetic to her; why do you think that he's been so stupid about her? He'd never be like that if he was truly himself. He hasn't even taken any wenches in the time that we've been here. The one that he did take was useless because Serenity turned up and renewed the hex. He's completely under her spell! Lord Tsuniko has confessed to as much! And once they find her, she is to be burned for her crimes!"  
  
Endymion removed his hand from Serenity's forehead and stared at her glowing mark. A witch? She was not a witch. Endymion did not know what she was, exactly, but he knew that she had not done anything that Lord Tsuniko had accused her of doing. With careful fingers, he brushed her bangs back over her forehead as the generals continued to argue. He would not let anything happen to Serenity; he would not let anyone or anything harm her.  
  
"You're going to be alright, Serenity," he promised in a whisper. "I will protect you. They're not going to touch you, and I hope that you are not too angered by my method of salvation. Just sleep for now, little angel. I will protect you from them. You'll be safe."  
  
Nephrite caught some of the whispers and drove forward. He peered into the room where the fire burned. "She's here! Endymion, get away from her! She's a witch! She has you under a curse!"  
  
"You're being ridiculous!" Zoicite snapped, clenching her hands by her sides. She was extremely angered by Nephrite's blind presumption, but the other two generals remained silent. "Nephrite, have you not thought through this at all?! You're being entirely unreasonable!"  
  
"What's so unreasonable, Zoicite?" Nephrite glared. "She's a witch. She has to be burned for her crimes. Nothing is so simple as that."  
  
"You won't touch her."  
  
Nephrite turned to Endymion with venomous anger. He had expected his findings to be met with successive joy, but no one seemed to share his rationale, his reasonable logic. "Just walk away from her, Endymion. You're going to be okay now."  
  
"No Nephrite. It doesn't work like that." Endymion moved with purposeful grace and retrieved his sword from beside the fireplace; he had placed it there before leaving for Snowball. He dragged the tip of the fatal blade across the floor, watching it carefully with his eyes. Nephrite followed the line as well, and looked up to find Endymion staring at him when it was done. "If you or anyone else crosses this line with the intention of even touching Serenity, I will drive this point through your neck."  
  
"Endymion. . . ." Nephrite's eyes swelled in shock; the other generals simply looked on with something of indifference. Endymion was perfectly serious. The young soldier seated himself beside the fire, his sword balanced on his knees. He sat back against the warm stonewall and closed his eyes. Nephrite's mouth worked but no words fell from his lips. He spun on his heel and left the house. Jedeite and Kunzite exchanged equal looks of understanding. Jedeite was the one who moved closer to Endymion while Kunzite and Zoicite retired to their rooms.  
  
"He's gone to tell them, you know," Jedeite reasoned. Endymion did not open his eyes. He knew that Jedeite would not test his promise of harm. "They will be here to collect her come morning."  
  
"I will wait."  
  
"Endymion!" Jedeite snapped. Endymion's eyes slit open. "You cannot risk either yourself or Serenity for your foolishness. If you have the intention of protecting her, this is the wrong way of going about it."  
  
"I don't agree."  
  
"And what do you plan on doing?"  
  
Endymion leaned forward, mindful of the blade on his lap. "Marry her."  
  
"Oh good gods, how you mock me!" Jedeite cried out. "Be serious, Endymion. You are a soldier, and she has been accused of witchery. You have lost your mind, and if you continue in this manner, I will be forced to follow Nephrite's logic in this matter and name you hexed."  
  
Endymion shook his head, his dark bangs jumping with the movement. "I am not a soldier, Jedeite. I am a noble, and as such, I need a wife. I have found her."  
  
  
  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 


	18. Freedom Forgotten

Over a year seems like a long time to wait. I'm sorry that this has been on my computer for so long. I hope to finish it soon.  
  
This is because of the insistence of my wonderful reviewers, friends, and Adamu. I hope you like it!  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------  
  
"They are here, Endymion."  
  
Endymion forced his thickly lidded eyes open. How long had he slept? He leaned forward, and his sword pressed hard against his abdomen. He sat back and stared at the straight serpent on his lap--the metal seemed so innocent cradled to his body, asleep over his legs. The rust of blood had not scarred its blade; the sanguine fluid of the past had simply rolled away and left no mark, like mist over the dew-kissed grass.  
  
"How many?"  
  
"Too many for you," Zoicite snapped. She stormed to the window, the  
heavy steps of her male body jolting the wood-slated floor. "Not quite the mad mob either. Rather collected group. Looks like your girly's little friend is with them too. So much for loyalty."  
  
"Zoi-Zoi," Kunzite cooed, his voice undercut with a warning tone, "do not begin this again. We have greater problems now. Your quarrels with Endymion can wait."  
  
"The only one with a problem is Endymion. I have nothing to do with  
this."  
  
Endymion rose from the fireplace, his sword tip briefly grazed the wood floor. Zoicite eyed the blade with a smirk.  
  
"You plan to take them all on, Endymion?" Zoicite removed herself from Kunzite's arms and pointed a thin finger at the distant crowd. "I think that you'd best reconsider your plan."  
  
"You would abandon me when I need your strength."  
  
"The only thing you need is a brain."  
  
"I'm not going to take them on, Zoicite."  
  
"What are you going to do, then?" Kunzite asked quietly.  
  
"I need a wife."  
  
"Convenient," Jedeite said. "You do not know what you are getting yourself into, Endymion."  
  
Endymion brushed back the ebony hair that fell into his dark eyes. He motioned towards Serenity's unconscious form. "She will be my wife."  
  
"And I'm sure that she'll love you for it." Zoicite laughed. "I can't wait until she wakes up and discovers that you've decided her future for her."  
  
"People of the house!" The voice was not familiar, but it caught the attention of every conscious member within the rented home. "People of the house! We request that you deliver Serenity Tsuniko to us!"  
  
Endymion grabbed Jedeite's forearm and locked his dark eyes on Jedeite's gray-blue orbs. "They will kill her. I do not want her blood on my hands."  
  
"So you mean to marry her, then? You claim that you don't want her blood on your hands, but what of your own? She'll kill you for this." Jedeite shook his head. "There are other ways out of this, Endymion. Do not be so eager to throw your freedom away!"  
  
Endymion's next words were lost in a loud thud against the front door. Zoicite groaned and pulled at her thin bottom lip with her thumb and forefinger. Her words were marred by her lip's distortion when she spoke. "I think they want in."  
  
"Shut-up, Zoicite!" Endymion snapped. Zoicite raised her eyebrow but did not respond. Endymion went to the window to witness the swell of people outside. "All of those people for one little girl."  
  
"A little girl you say you're going to claim for your wife. You never struck me as a pedophile, Endymion."  
  
"She's not that young, Jedeite." Endymion moved to the door and rested his gloved hand on the wood doorframe. "This will work, won't it?"  
  
None of the other soldiers replied. Endymion dropped his head and twisted the doorknob to the right. Nippy air rushed into the room and lingered long after Endymion had shut the door and walked outside.  
  
"Who are you, young sir? You hold Serena in this house?"  
  
Endymion looked up at the man who had spoken. He was a chubby middle-aged gentleman with the dusty shadow of a beard draped over his face and down the front of his thick neck. His eyes were brown with spidery red lines splayed across the yellowed-whites of his irises. "Who here holds her life? Who here is responsible for her?"  
  
"Her father has given her life to me, young sir. Her life now belongs to the good people of this town, and we would see her burn for her crimes."  
  
"Crimes?" Endymion's voice carried an anger he had wished to conceal.  
  
The man narrowed his eyes. "You have no right to question our will, young sir. Now, bring the girl to us or step aside so we can take her."  
  
"I can't do that." Endymion spoke in level tones, calculated and precise.  
  
"Then we will have to charge you as her accomplice, young man. You would face criminal charges and may very well share her fate."  
  
Endymion bit the inside of his left cheek and willed his mind to be still. Nervousness clawed at the soft tissues in his brain and opened fear, as though slicing open thick gashes. "I propose an alternative. I do not believe that you want death."  
  
"It is what is right, young sir." The man gentled his voice. "Who are we to fight the greater judgement of the group? Who are we to say what shall govern the lives of mortals? It is not for any one individual, young sir, but for the will of a collective group that has reached a unanimous and undivided decision. It is the community that will decide what is best, and they have spoken. Now quit this play and give us the girl."  
  
Endymion choked on his salvia when he opened his mouth to speak, having inhaled the liquid when he drew in breath for his words. He knelt over his knees and coughed until the discomfort of the obstruction had dissipated into a slight sting in the back of his throat. He straightened his back and met the man's eyes with a gaze of concentrated fury, despite the tears in his eyes. The man flinched back, and Endymion relaxed when he realized that he could intimate the leader. He swiped at his watery eyes and coughed again to completely clear his throat. "I would have her for my wife."  
  
"No! You can't do that to her! She hates you!"  
  
Endymion shifted his gaze to Serena's blue-haired friend who had forced her way to the front of the crowd. He let his glare linger on her until he was sure that it had disturbed the girl and then returned it to the man. "I will take her from here today, if that is your wish, and I can promise you that you will not have to see her again. She will be far away from your village and will bring it no harm."  
  
"You can't do that! She hates you!" the blue-haired girl screamed again. Three people in the crowd were holding her back from Endymion, but she hardly seemed to notice them in her struggle to be freed.  
  
"How far?"  
  
"He will take her past the borders of the Long South and into the territory of Ryuton where he will settle in the city of Taues. You will not hear from either of them again, my good people."  
  
Endymion glared haughtily at the messenger who had worn the Ox's head at the Snowball. "I told you to leave."  
  
"I thought you might need me, milord." The messenger held out a small wooden box the rested in the scarred palm of his left hand. "From Queen Beryl, milord. And, for the crowd, a peace-offering."  
  
The small man removed a green velvet bag from an inside pocket in his cloak at heaved it at the crowd. The man who had addressed Endymion caught it in two hands and pulled loose the copper-coloured cords that had tied the bag shut. "Gold?"  
  
"Fifty imperial-marked pieces, to be exact, courtesy of Queen Beryl in exchange for Lord Shields' wife."  
  
Endymion thought back to the gold coin he had shoved between the tavern wench's breasts months earlier. The coin had been marked locally. Imperial-marked coins carried over seventeen times the worth. The messenger had just handed the man a small fortune for a town that rarely saw excess income.  
  
"Past the border of the Long South, you said?" The man's eyes were stained with the brightness of the gold. "I'm sure we could agree to that. But you have to leave now. We don't want any more trouble. You can take the witch, but if she ever comes back, we won't negotiate."  
  
The messenger gave the man a toothy grin. "Oh, we understand, good people. We understand. Not one of us will be coming back. Not one. I give you my word, good people."  
  
Endymion heard the door to the house open and close. He glanced back and saw that Jedeite had decided to join him. Endymion shoved the wooden box the messenger had given him inside his cloak's inner pocket and turned to face his friend. Jedeite's gray-blue eyes did not rest on Endymion, but instead, scrutinized the crowd of people who had turned to leave.  
  
"A rather large group to be so easily swayed. What was in the bag?" His questions were directed at the messenger who now hobbled closer to Endymion. Jedeite stepped between Endymion and the smaller man, intent on receiving his answers.  
  
"It was gold, Jedeite. Fifty imperial-marked pieces."  
  
Jedeite's lips twitched at the corners. "There's nothing quite like money to cut through pack-mentality. That's quite a fair amount of gold, though, sir. Where would someone like you have come across such an amount?"  
  
The messenger scowled. "My Queen shows her kindness in many ways, and would not appreciate your suspicion. I suggest that you lose that attitude before you go to Taues."  
  
"Go to Taues? I have never considered the idea. A tyrant woman who cares nothing for her people or land runs the country. I happened upon the land once when I was very young and now know better than to return." Jedeite spat, as though the words had left a bad taste on his tongue.  
  
Endymion ran a hand through his hair. "I think I have to go there, Jedeite. I've committed myself to this arrangement now, and this messenger has named the place I am meant to go."  
  
"You're being ridiculous, soldier. Get back inside that house. We'll speak of this when everyone's not so close to the situation."  
  
"Jed--"  
  
"Were you just going to question me?" Jedeite drew himself up to his full height and locked his tempestuous eyes on Endymion. Endymion balked at the blonde-haired man, stunned that Jedeite would pull his rank into play without having said a word of reminder that Endymion was not his superior or equal.  
  
"No, Jedeite." Endymion walked backwards one step and then turned his back on Jedeite and the messenger to trudge through the snow back towards the log house like a child whipped for misbehaviour.  
  
Zoicite opened the door for Endymion and let him into the house. She closed it securely behind him and shook her head at the bare wood door. "What happened? I've never seen Jedeite so physically angry before. I think I saw him spit at you!"  
  
"He didn't spit at me. Do me a favour and pack my things, Zoi."  
  
She glanced at him. "I failed to pick up the rising intonation at the end of your statement there, Endy, and I'm sure that it's just my ears, but would you mind repeating that for me?"  
  
"Please pack my things, Zoi." Endymion walked over to the fireplace, where Serenity still lay on the floor untouched by others. Kunzite sat on the far side of Endymion's established line and watched the young woman rest. "I'll need my horse."  
  
"Among other things like a brain!" Jedeite snapped as he entered the log house. The door slammed behind him and shook the thin-paned windows that let cold slip through the glass. 


	19. Rude Awakenings

-

Cold slipped through the window and glided along Serenity's cheek, a caustic breeze on her bare flesh. She shuddered and rubbed her left palm into the side of her face with fierce strokes. Her hand abandoned the chill skin and dove past her shoulder down to her hip, splayed fingers hoping to catch a corner of her blanket. Instead, her hand caught hold of flesh. Human flesh. Foreign flesh. Her eyelids quickly fractured to let her sight ingurgitate the world. Ami's left hand lay palm-up on Serenity's dress-covered legs. Her blue-haired friend's mouth was open and wad of drool sat just below the right-side of her dry lips. Serenity gaped at her friend and willed her heart to plod along at its normal pace. When she did regain her composure, however, it did not take her long to note that she was in a wooden box-one that moved.

"Ami!" Serenity slapped the backside of her right hand against Ami's closest shoulder. "Ami! Wake up!"

Ami's left eye was half-sealed with sleep. She rubbed it fiercely with her palm and straightened herself up in the seat. She blinked slowly for a few moments before she turned to see Serenity. "You're awake?"

"That's what you want to know? If I'm awake?" Serenity sibilated. Her heart punched at her ribs. "Where are we!"

Ami looked around the wooden box slowly. She still had not swiped at the drool that now began to dry just below her lips. "We're still in the carriage."

Serenity resisted the urge to surround Ami's neck with angry fingers. The quivers that now held her hands hostage, however, would probably not allow her to grip anything effectively; she was terrified. "Ami, where are we? Why are we in a carriage?"

Ami absently swiped at the drool and then ran the same hand through her bright blue hair. Serenity frowned. Ami seemed unaware of her actions, which only added to Serenity's nervous. Ami was the only semblance of constancy she had; if Ami were to be unable to reassure Serenity within a few moments—

"Ami!" Serenity snapped. The fear began to make her feel physically ill. "Ami! Answer me! Why are we here!"

Ami's blue eyes finally found Serenity's face. Serenity's stomach took another plummet when she saw the hopelessness in Ami's face. "I don't know how to tell you." She began to rub the shoulder that had been struck by Serenity's hasty hand. "How are you feeling? Do you remember anything about what's happened?"  
Serenity sat back and drew her blonde eyebrows together in concentration. What did she remember? Memories of a wolf danced in her mind. A wolf? She tried to remove the image from her head but failed. There had been a wolf. A wolf with eyes that shone blue from beneath the layers of fur…covering the mask. A mask. Not a wolf. The Snowball.

Ami watched Serenity's face carefully, but the blonde-haired woman did not notice her friend's intense stare. Her father…and fingers wrapped around her neck. She shuddered, and Ami rested a consoling hand on her knee, which frightened Serenity and did nothing to reassure her. Did Ami know about her father's abuse? How angry he had been with her? No. She had not told anyone—or had she? Even if she hadn't, her father…had he told someone what had happened? And even if he had, did it matter? What had happened after that?

The moon had been black, but was that before or after? Before? Maybe. She remembered her palms covered in her father's blood. Had she hit him? She strained her mind to remember what she had done after that point, but nothing came except the memory of soft, gentle blue traced with something. . .something cold, and then-perhaps before that memory?—the white moon.

"Where are we, Ami?"

Ami patted Serenity's knee, although the action could not be labeled conscious. "We're in a carriage."

Serenity's nostrils flared, and Ami recoiled visibly from the venomous stare. "And where," Serenity fought to keep from shrieking and spoke very slowly, carefully enunciating every word, "is the carriage going?"

Ami cringed, and when she answered, her voice rose as though she meant to ask Serenity if she had named the correct destination. "To Taues."

Serenity's temper prickled, the only thing keeping her from breaking down into tears. She grappled with her anger as best as could. "Why?"

Ami took on the personality of a scared rabbit and began to look for an exit. Her face paled; she shook; her eyes frantically looked for a way out, but her body remained perfectly still, paralyzed. "I-I don't think that I should tell you, Serenity. Please don't ask me."

"Who am I supposed to ask, then?" she demanded. Already her eyes were wet, and her breath hitched in her throat. The wooden slats lining the interior of the carriage seemed to bend and twist closer to her body in an attempt to squeeze all of the air from the small space. The brown-cushioned seats pressed hard into her tailbone and the maroon curtains shut out any natural light. It was too much. Serenity lunged towards the nearest curtain and clawed it open. The long nail on her right forefinger snapped backwards past the quick and made the young woman howl with a quick pain. She clutched the offended finger to her chest and sobbed.

Ami quickly surrounded her arms around Serenity's earthquake in an attempt to calm emotional outburst. "Oh gods, Serenity. You don't want to know. You really don't want to know."

Serenity tried to catch her breath and keep from being sick. She rubbed her eyes with her hands over Ami's shoulders and arms. Then movement from outside the window she had forcefully uncovered caught her eyes, and the anger returned. "What are they doing here?"

Ami removed herself from Serenity and slowly turned to follow her friend's line of sight. Again her face colour paled noticeably. She tried to casually recover the window. "Escorting us?" she suggested.

"You really convince me when you say it like that, Ami." Serenity hiccupped. Her eyes narrowed on their supposed escort. "Why are they going to Taues? They signed a year-long contract with our town."

"So, then, maybe this is part of their duties?" Ami suggested.

Serenity whirled to face her friend again. Ami recoiled from Serenity; she moved herself back a little only after she seemed satisfied that Serenity had made no physical threats against her. Serenity, while not yet ready to lash out with her limbs, spat angrily at Ami. Ami stared at Serenity and tried to make sense of the incomprehensible words that spilled from the blonde's mouth. After screeching her frustration at being too angry to think straight much less speak, Serenity threw herself up against the carriage's seat and stomped her feet. Ami let out a slow, quiet breath and tried not to encourage another like reaction from Serenity as she turned to speak again. Ami opened her mouth and began to form a starting syllable when the carriage stopped, and the door opened. Ami's mouth closed around the syllable and swallowed it deep.

"What's going on?" Kunzite demanded. "It sounded like you two were fighting."

Ami shook her head fiercely and looked intently at the floorboards. She did not speak or give any indication as to what had occurred. She waited for Serenity to speak, feared it. Serenity turned to Kunzite, looked through him. Her blue eyes slowly returned to the wall opposite her seat. "Why are you taking me to Taues?"

Kunzite frowned for a moment at Ami before he gave his full attention to Serenity. "It's where we were instructed to go," he replied.

"And who gave you those instructions?" Serenity's even tones screamed at Kunzite to phrase his answer carefully if he wanted to avoid her temper.

Kunzite shrugged. "A messenger came to us and told us to come to Taues. He spoke on behalf of Queen Beryl."

"You're taking me to see her!" Serenity shrieked. Serenity's forceful reaction made Ami wonder whether it would have been better to tell her about Endymion's proposal, or lack of proposal and the decision he had made.

Kunzite grinned. "Know something of her, do you?"

Serenity's nails dug deep into her palms as she struggled for some control over her anger. She turned to Kunzite and claimed his eyes with hers. "Why does Beryl have any interest in me?"

"She doesn't."

Ami's body shook silently. Kunzite's words were truthful, but he avoided giving Serenity more information than she had asked for, and the blonde knew that he held answers away from her. Ami waited for the next explosion. "Why are you taking me to Taues, General? Why am I included in this excursion?"

"We were instructed to bring you."

"On whose orders?" she pressed. Her voice had lost some of its control and hissed at Kunzite.

"Your village has received fifty imperial-marked pieces, courtesy of Queen Beryl, in exchange for-" Kunzite paused for a moment, remembering that the exchange had been for 'Lord Shield's wife' and that such wording may not appeal to the young woman at this moment, or at any other time for that matter.

"For what?" Serenity demanded.

"For your safe transport."

Serenity's eyes widened at the stupidity. "Allow me to get this straight, General; I think with a clear mind when I am able to voice my thoughts. My village was paid, instead of you and your companions, for my safe transport?" Her blue eyes narrowed. "Why would anyone have to pay my village for my transport? Why would my village have anything to do with me? Why would you not receive any payment for my transportation and still agree to transport me?"

Ami whimpered. Her friend was so close to an emotionally painful truth. What kind of friend would she be if she let a near stranger give such bad news? "They thought that you were a witch, Serenity. They were going to burn you. Queen Beryl's messenger paid for your life. He told the generals to take you to Taues."

Serenity turned slowly. Her head seemed disconnected from her body it moved so smoothly. Ami shuddered but held her face in place so that her friend could judge the truth of her statement. So smoothy—the stuff of nightmares. "Me?" Serenity asked. Her voice quivered. Ami wondered if she should be relieved that tears would come instead an anger directed at her.

Ami nodded and thought that she should say something more but Kunzite interrupted her thoughts. "If that's all, we should continue moving."

"Wait!" Serenity nearly leapt from the carriage in her attempt to arrest Kunzite's movement. "Why did he pay?"

Kunzite tossed a glance at Ami and took her pale features to mean that Serenity might not take kindly to Endymion's decision. "She was interested in you."

"Why?" Serenity pushed.

Kunzite sighed. "Ask your friend, maybe she can tell you. I need to get back now. We're a long way from home." He forced her back inside the carriage and secured the door. He could hear Serenity's muffled demands and almost regretted the situation in which he had left the other young woman. Almost. He motioned for the others to continue and swung up into the driver's seat again. The horses pulled the carriage forward again in unison. The two-horse team had been given to them as a thank you from the happy villagers. The carriage had cost them a bit, but once again the messenger proved unusually generous and timely.

Kunzite watched Endymion fall back from the others and pull up beside the slow-moving transport. "What was the shrieking about?"

Kunzite shrugged. "Your young miss decided to wake up and didn't favour being in a carriage bound for Taues."

Endymion contemplated his words quietly for a moment before he spoke. "She's quieter now, though, so everything is fine."

"Fine?" Kunzite shook his head. "I don't know that I'd define it as being fine."

"And how would you choose to define it, Kunzite?" Endymion's midnight eyes glared Kunzite down. "You have a knack for complicating things."

Kunzite swallowed Endymion's accusatory words and refused to rise to the challenge with anger. Instead, he decided to answer calmly in his best voice of reason. Zoicite, however, had other plans. Kunzite had failed to even see her drift back. "You seem to have my mate confused with me, Endy," she crooned. "Perhaps you should go for a gallop; I hear that there are few things other than a good jarring to let the cotton out of your head. It won't do you any good to be cotton-headed now that your bride's up. You might need to break the news to her tonight-about her engagement, you understand, because if I know Kunzite, and I do, his conversation with your witch-bride didn't include her imminent betrothal. You'll need your wits around you then, I think. I think that most women like to be informed of such matters, although I doubt the knowledge will bring her any semblance of joy."

The same hollow emptiness Endymion had sought to destroy when he first became a soldier curled in his stomach and nestled deep in his gut. How long had it been since he had felt to same quiet desperation? How long had it been since he had last wished for an episode of amnesia to everything take away? Surrounded by his friends he suddenly felt alone and despondent.

"Leave me alone, Zoicite." He heeled his horse into a canter and left both Zoicite and Kunzite behind. He tried to comprehend the situation on a rational level, but his mind rode a wave of red and every moment he considered his situation, he feel deeper and deeper into anger. Why shouldn't she be grateful to be his wife? He had saved her life, not only from the villages, but from the snow. She would have frozen out there had he not found her. Surely that would mean something to her. Yet as he rode on, his stomach twisted into complicated and unhappy designs that left cramps of stress in his abdomen. She would not be happy. How could she be?


	20. Civilized Conversation

The next installment…hopefully not too much longer now! . Thank you for the reviews! They've kept me going!

Night came early to the sky, and it was two hours after dark that the group arrived in a small town with an inn. At the head of the group, Endymion did not wait for the others before he passed his horse off to a stable boy and strode from the meager stable to the inn's front door. The wooden door met his gloved hand with warmth that surprised his cold, covered flesh. He twisted the icy doorknob with his right hand and swung the door open with his left. Loud, jovial voices crashed around his ears as he entered the inn's sitting area. The room was large and warm, with a ceiling lower than most that had become blackened by long years of fireplace smoke. Strong ale and sweetened mead wafted to his nose, inviting him further into the communal area. A few patrons raised their eyes at him, one man nodded to him before returning to his cup, but none of their eyes lingered long. The atmosphere relaxed Endymion's tense stomach. There was nothing to worry him here.

"Well, aren't you just a breath of fresh air." Endymion turned to his left and looked down on the short serving girl who addressed him. She balanced a large, flat tray on her hip and grinned up at him with a sincere smile. "A bit cold for my tastes, but I'm sure we can do something to warm yeh up. A summer breeze is always a bit more inviting than a winter kiss, don'cha think? Help yehrself to a table and I'll send one of my girls over to see to yehr needs. Will yeh be eating here tonight?"

Endymion offered her a lopsided grin. "If you think it'll get the frost off me, I'd be more than willing to sit down to a nice warm meal. I have friends with me who'll probably want the same."

"Well, now yeh just tell me how many of yeh there are and I'll get something started for yeh."

Endymion opened his mouth with five on the tip of his tongue but then recalled his speech. "There's seven of us, but two of my group would be better off eating in their bedroom. I don't suppose that you have some vacancies?"

"For seven?" We've two rooms of a fair size if yeh don't mind bunking up."

Endymion entertained the idea of bedding down with Serenity. The thought was appealing on a physical level, but having to cope with her probable conversation and yelling made him blanch. The idea shriveled in his mind along with his sexual interest in her. "Two would be fine, if that's what's available."

"I'll have two dinners sent up to one of the rooms. Let's see here," she paused and seemed to be mentally calculating something, "the rooms'll be in two and seven. They're right next to each other."

"Two and seven beside each other?" Endymion arched an eyebrow at her playfully. The serving woman laughed.

"My sons liked to play tricks on our patrons when they was little. We never got to fixing them numbers all back again. Adds character to the place anyhow."

Endymion smirked. "I'm sure it does." He winked at the woman and excused himself. He felt better about confronting Serenity now that he had experienced an enjoyable conversation with someone other than himself, and figured that any protests Serenity made would be better voiced away from such a large body of people. He slipped out the door again and shuddered when the cold hit him and seeped into his bones again. Kunzite eased himself down from the driver's seat and motioned for Endymion to open the door with an annoyed wave of his hand. Endymion straightened his shoulders, strode forward, and threw the door to the carriage open.

Endymion peered into the dark carriage. Bright blue eyes shone out from wide white eyes. "You!" Serenity seemed torn between lunging at Endymion and forcing herself farther into the corner of the carriage. Endymion did not give her the opportunity to find courage.

"We've arrived at an inn. I've arranged rooms and meals for us. You and Ami can go up to room," he frowned momentarily. Which room was to receive the meals? He improvised, "number seven. Your meals should arrive shortly."

"Rooms? Meals? Are you insane? You had better turn this whole thing around before—before." Serenity's mouth moved without sound; Endymion entertained the idea that she was simply screaming at him at pitches too high for his ears to pick up.

"Before?" He ventured to bait her just a little but found the impact explosive. Serenity lunged out of the carriage's cabin and hit Endymion square in the chest. Her once milk-rose face had blotched red and white, her mouth twisted into a yowl. He had not expected her to throw herself at him with such force and struggled hard to maintain his balance. A small, balled fist hit the left side of his face and eradicated the precarious stability Endymion had mustered. The two fell hard onto the ice-covered road, small rocks and pebbles trying to pierce through the clothes and cloak on Endymion's back. The rest of the group backed away while the two fought on the ice and snow.

"You! You did this to me! I remember now! That letter you got at the ball. You're the one Queen Beryl wants! Not me! What am I doing here!" She continued to thrash out irrationally, and Endymion was grateful that most of her blows missed. He grabbed for her hands while trying his best to keep his face protected.

"You're here," Endymion hissed, "because I saved your life."

"They wouldn't have hurt me! They know I'm not a witch!"

Endymion noted her hesitation through her whole body. He took advantage of her insecurity and grappled for her wrists, locking them behind her back. His left hand closed over both of her petite wrists tightly and held her in place, leaving his right hand free to further restrain her should she require it. She continued to struggle against him but now seemed more aware of exactly where they were and how she had unwittingly positioned herself. Endymion did not allow her to renew her attack on him before he responded to her. "Serenity, you would have died. We found you in the snow, Jedeite and I. You weren't breathing. We had to take you back to our cabin and get you warm again." He propped himself up on his right elbow but did not release her hands. "When they came for you there, they were set on burning you. I decided to take you with us."

Serenity's entire body stilled. Snow. What had happened? Why had she been in the snow? Her wings. She quickly looked back but saw that the feathery appendages had left her. How much had she forgotten? "Why was I in the snow?"

Endymion forced himself into a more upright position, and Serenity slid from his tense abdomen to his lap. He flushed with warmth in spite of the cold that had been slithering in from the ground to his bones. He stilled his hips from rotating upwards. He focused on her wet eyes and her sadness dispelled the heat. "We don't know. There was blood and you had no breath."

"Did you"

"Jedeite returned air to you. I"

"Perhaps we can go inside. I'm sure that Serenity must have many other questions for you. We might as well be warm," Jedeite interrupted.

Endymion reluctantly nodded upon seeing that Serenity intended to cooperate for the time being. He released her wrists, and she quickly removed herself from his lap, flushing when she realized just how she had straddled him. Ami rushed over and took hold of Serenity's arm. Endymion followed behind them, begrudging Ami for her quick act of support.

Again the warm tavern washed over Endymion with a promise of comfort. The serving woman who had first greeted him now rushed towards the group with a big smile. "I was beginning to worry that yer were only teasing me, good sir. Now yer all come inside and get warmed up. No sense in standing by the door where the chill can get yer. I have yehr table all set up just over this way. I hope yer all hungry. Got some hot food waiting."

Zoicite gave the woman a bright grin. "Sounds wonderful."

"And who was wantin' theirs in the room? It's up in seven. I've got the key just here."

Nephrite took the key from the woman's proffered hand. "Thank you."

"If yer need anything else, yer just call one of my girls to help yer." The woman gave them one last wink before she sauntered off in the opposite direction. Kunzite, Zoicite, and Nephrite immediately moved in on the table that held their meals. Jedeite managed to grab the key from Nephrite and delayed with Endymion, Serenity, and Ami.

"So," Jedeite said.

Endymion frowned at Jedeite and directed his attention to Serenity. "Would you take your dinner with me upstairs?"

"Just us?" she asked. Her face lost its colour then flushed.

Endymion nodded and marveled at Serenity's innocence. "We have a bit to talk about."

Jedeite shifted and turned to Endymion with a warning glare. "Endymion, perhaps"

"Jedeite, if you will please take Ami to the table to eat. I'm sure she's quite hungry by now and could use some good food." He put his hand on the small of Serenity's back and maneuvered her towards the stairs. "This way, Serenity."

She looked back over her shoulder to find Ami, but Endymion increased his speed, and consequently hers, which forced her to watch where they were going. The stairs disappeared beneath her slippered feet and she wondered briefly where they had come from, where any of the clothes she now wore had come from. Serenity adjusted quickly to the darker hallway and continued to move as Endymion chose. He stopped her in front of a wooden door with a metal number seven screwed into the frame. He reached around Serenity and unlocked the door, moved her inside, and locked it behind him again. He turned to face her slowly. She had already made her way to the small table in the room. Endymion smirked at her swollen eyes.

"Ahhh…I'm so hungry! I didn't even notice!" She sat down and began to spoon soup into her mouth. The first spoonful of the vegetable broth burned her mouth and she quickly spat it back out into the bowl and reached for the nearest glass. She quickly downed the frothy liquid.

"Too hot for you?" Endymion teased. He moved with a cat's grace to the second chair and seated himself. He frowned as Serenity nodded, her face still covered by the large mug. "I don't know that you should drink that so quickly. It's probably going to make you sick."

Serenity's eyes narrowed and she quickly finished off the drink. "Don't be silly. It's just raspberry juice." She approached the soup with her spoon again and was careful to blow on the liquid she scooped up before depositing it in her mouth. "Ahhh…it's all so good! I'm so hungry!"

Endymion just raised an eyebrow at the young woman and watched her shovel some bread into her gaping mouth after the soup. She inhaled her food. "Perhaps you should slow down a bit," he suggested.

Serenity glared at him. He smirked at her. "Pay attention to your own meal," she said. Her tone was almost teasing, but he took her to be sincere in her proposal. "More juice."

Endymion sighed and poured her another cup of the raspberry juice. He set the jug on the table and tried out a spoonful of his own soup. The broth was hot, but not so hot that he would spit back like Serenity had done. He bared the burns on the top of his mouth and looked around the room to hide his watering eyes. The room was modestly furnished. There was a bed that would fit one comfortably and two snuggly in the far right corner opposite from the room. A small three-drawer wood dresser stood beside the bed, low enough to be a bedside table, and beside it stood a wash-stand. There was a chair in need of new upholstery by the bedroom window a few feet from the small table where he and Serenity sat. On the wall above the bed there hung a single painting of a horse galloping across a desert. A simple room.

Endymion returned his attention to Serenity and frowned at her as she slopped more juice into her glass. "You're going to give yourself a stomach ache, drinking something so sweet."

She muttered something beneath her breath and returned the jug to the table after filling her glass; Endymion presumed it to be something uncomplimentary. He tore a piece of bread away from the small loaf on the table and dipped it in his soup, bringing it absently to his mouth as he watched Serenity drink the remains of her own. She smacked her lips together and rested a hand on her stomach. "That was delicious! Are you going to eat all that?"

Endymion raised a midnight eyebrow. "I am. Have some more bread."

"So," Serenity said between mouthfuls, "we need to talk. I don't remember what happened. I don't know why I was in the snow. I don't know why you brought me here. Please tell me everything you know."

Endymion's appetite clenched and hid somewhere in his stomach where he could no longer feel it. "I would like to"

"Endymion?" Serenity interrupted.

He cocked his head a little to the right. "Yes?"

Serenity's face flushed. "Thank you for…for helping me, even if I didn't want your assistance. I think I owe you my life. I hope that we can have a civilized conversation now."

He nodded slowly, as though considering her words. "Thank you. I'd like to keep this discussion civil, as well. It was not easy, to save you, that is. I had to" he hesitated, but then plunged forward, "I have told them that I was taking you as my wife. It was the only way that they'd let you go." Not entirely a lie, but not a full truth.

Serenity's lips slowly dropped away from each other until Endymion could see down her pink throat. Her eyes were swollen with disbelief, as though she had so much to take in of the world that she could not possibly absorb it all but tried to do so anyway. "You—what?"

Endymion pushed himself away from the table and began to pace across the wood floor. "They were going to kill you, and the messenger told me that I needed to get a wife and go to Taeus, and you were there, and it was clear that your village wasn't going to take you back, and so I thought that if I just took you with us, you'd live, and then if you were my wife, I'd have an excuse to take you, and I know that this is probably a shock for you to absorb, but it's the best thing I could do, so now we're going to Taeus, and we're supposed to be married, but I'm not sure when, I"

"Married?" Serenity's slack face quietly drew itself together and before it had finished its composition, Endymion knew that he would be staring into her determined, angry face in a matter of moments. "YOU IDIOT! I AM NEVER, EVER, EVER GOING TO MARRY YOU!"

Endymion had not time to dodge the soup-bowl-turned-projectile and it shattered on his hip. She had impressive aim for someone who remained seated. He cringed and moved at a snail's pace towards Serenity, not wanting to startle her into throwing more objects. A second item, the remainder of the bread loaf, smacked the centre of his chest. His temper flared. "I've done you a favour, odango! Your father was already going to marry you off! Or do you not remember?" He sneered at her, his eyes midnight and angry. "Ha. Marry you off. As I said before, no one would marry someone as ridiculous as you, odango-atama! Be grateful that I am giving you an opportunity to warm my bed. You'll be a bad wife, but I'm willing to put up with you."

"Willing to put up with me!" she shrieked. "I can't stand you! I hate you! I will never warm your bed! I am not a whore, unlike every other woman you've ever been with! Money couldn't motivate me to be with you! I refuse!" Her face began to show red splotches over her usually rose-milk cheeks. She gripped the table with both her hands.

Endymion met her antagonism with his own. "I wasn't planning on paying you! No one would pay you! And you ARE going to be my wife!"

"You don't even like me!" she howled. She pushed herself away from the table and stood up. Her eyes snapped on Endymion but then lost their focus and swam around the room. "I" She stuck her arms out to either side, her movements staggered and abrupt. "I don't feel so good."

Endymion opened his mouth to reply but the words stuck to his tongue. Serenity crumpled to the floor and landed on her bottom, her head bobbing. Endymion strode to the table and drank from his untouched glass. His eyes inflated. "You said it was juice!" he yelled.

"Raspberry," Serenity corrected.

"This is ale, odango!"

She frowned. "Ale."

"As in alcohol," he elaborated. He fought the smile off his face. This shouldn't be funny, but it was. The rush she had gotten when she stood up…it was priceless to see her sitting on the floor.

She screamed. "You got me drunk!"

"Me? I warned you, odango-atama. It was you who decided to go and drink so much."

"AMI-CHAN!" Serenity screeched. Endymion sighed. They had not actually talked through anything.

"Odango, I know that you don't want to marry me, but you're going to have to, okay?"

"No," was the childish retort. She sounded sulky. Endymion felt inside of his overcoat to find the wooden box the messenger had given him. He withdrew it and opened it. A simple ring with a thin gold band and a single black diamond sat in the velvety inside. Endymion removed it from the case and crouched next to Serenity.

"Give me your hand."

Serenity's blue eyes narrowed. "No."

Endymion snatched her hand from her lap and unfolded her fist. "Just wear this and think about it."

"Think about what?" She snapped. "Your proposal? You never even asked me."

He forced the ring onto her left ring finger. "I don't intend to. This is hardly a choice." He held her hand. "Don't you ever take this off."

Serenity immediately tried to remove the ring, but her fingers fumbled and slipped over her new possession. "I won't"

"Serenity!" came a cry from outside of the locked door. The doorknob jingled as someone tried to force their way in. "Serenity!"

"Ami-chan!" Serenity's eyes filled with tears. "Ami! He made me drunk!"

Endymion cringed as the door flew open under Jedeite's persistent pressure and the blue-haired girl threw herself into the room.

"Serenity! Are you okay?" Already her arms encircled her friend and held her in a reassuring embrace.

"He made me drunk, Ami!" Serenity moaned.

"Oh?" Jedeite said to Endymion. Endymion growled at Jedeite and stalked past the general. The older man had been right. What had he been thinking?


End file.
